


Show Me a World Where the Sky is Still Blue

by theprodigypenguin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Thorne & Rowling
Genre: Alley Blow Jobs, Alternate Universe - Dark, Anal Fingering, Anal Sex, Angst, Animal Death, Anxiety Disorder, BDSM, Blood, Blow Jobs, Child Neglect, Consensual Sex, Dark Timeline AU, Depression, Dubious Consent, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Explicit Sexual Content, Extremely Dubious Consent, First Time, Injury, M/M, Metamorphmagus, Missionary Position, Murder, Neglect, Patronus, Physical Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rimming, Rough Sex, Scars, Scorbus, Self-Harm, Violence, jeddy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-12
Updated: 2020-06-12
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:35:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 22,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24244369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theprodigypenguin/pseuds/theprodigypenguin
Summary: The day Voldemort won the war, darkness fell over the country. Twenty-three years passed beneath a sky filled with gray clouds, the sound of thunder in the distance and the scent of rain a constant in the air. While the resistance still fought against the Deatheaters, the battles were bloody and tiring.James and Albus Potter shouldn’t exist in this world. The last of their bloodline and raised in isolation due to the bounty on their name, they never attended Hogwarts like their parents. Maybe worse, they’d never seen a sky that wasn’t at the brink of pouring rain. Their lives are governed by strict rules set in place for their protection, but Potter’s have never been known for their obedience in doing what they're told. As reckless and chaotic as their predecessors, the brothers fight behind everyone’s backs, including each others.After years of living in darkness, meetings of happenstance open new doors. The isolated meet the abused, and though they are enemies, they are inexplicably drawn to one another. Maybe it's fate. Maybe in another timeline they would have been friends. Maybe the love that grows between them is strong enough to end the eternal darkness and bring back blue skies.
Relationships: Scorpius Malfoy/Albus Severus Potter, Teddy Lupin/James Sirius Potter
Comments: 9
Kudos: 44





	1. Disclaimer/Content Warning

Disclaimer: **_Though I am writing about very dark and triggering themes, I, the author, DO NOT condone them._**

It is not my intention to glorify any of the themes I've decided to write about, and if you do not believe you can handle reading the following content, then please do not try. Please be aware of _every_ warning in the tags, and consider your personal triggers before reading further. If you are triggered or squicked by themes of:

_**Self-Harm, Dubious Consent, Blood, Animal Abuse, Physical/Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Neglect, Depression, Anxiety Disorder, PTSD, Murder, or Major Character Death —** _

** _DO NOT READ FURTHER_ **

Take care of yourself and your mind before anything else. I have way fluffier fics if you need something soft, and there are DOZENS of fic authors who write jeddy and scorbus content that you will be able to read without worrying for your mental health.

* * *

This is my version of a Dark Timeline AU in which some characters ages are a little bit different. As they were all still in a war, some of the kids were born earlier than in canon. Harry and Ginny got married way sooner than in canon for example, and they started having kids way sooner. Here's a quick table to explain their ages:

Teddy: 23

James: 19

Louis: 19

Lysander: 18

Lorcan: 18

Albus: 17

Scorpius: 17

* * *

Updates are not scheduled and will probably be slow, so unless you're prepared to be patient then please don't start reading. If you have any questions regarding the story, want to yell at me for whetever reason, or are just interested in more content, you can find me on Tumblr @/theprodigypenguin. Thank you for taking a look at this story, even if you decide not to read further. I hope you enjoy the fic if you do decide to read, and I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I hope to enjoy writing.

_**—**_ Nico (theprodigypenguin)


	2. Stop My Heart Like You're In My Blood

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Cause every time we touch, it cuts the deepest  
> But I don't wanna fall if it's not in love  
> Oh you stop my heart like you're in my blood  
> You are, you are  
> To die, to die for
> 
> — "To Die For" Kygo ft St. Lundi

The interior of the club was hot and starchy when compared to the bone chilling cold that was waiting beyond the doors. People were milling about, weaving around tables and other patrons of the bar. Half of them were carrying schooners of firewhiskey or balancing flute glasses filled with bubbling liquor. The place was half filled with witches and wizards who wanted to get in out of the cold. Technically speaking James wasn’t supposed to be there, but he’d never been known for making smart choices.

Freddy would have called him brave and ballsy for having the guts to enter a Deatheater owned establishment that was frequented by even more Deatheaters. Though he’d probably be less impressed and more unnerved by the fact James was a regular at the bar. None of the patrons knew who he was, though. So long as James kept a low profile and didn’t bring attention to himself, no one bothered him; unless he wanted them too.

There was no better place in London to sit at the bar and cast an enhancement charm on your eardrums so you could hear every word spoken beneath the roof. No one would question a usual customer slipping in before the grey skies could pour rain; because the sky was always grey. It was always just moments away from storming.

James had never known anything else. Just dark clouds and the smell of rain. He didn’t know what the sun felt like, and when his uncle Ron would talk about how the sky used to be blue, James found it difficult to believe him. He’d grown up under a perpetually darkened sky with the constant sound of rolling thunder in the distance.

When he was younger, his brother Albus was afraid of thunder, so James had made up a story to make it less scary. He used to tell Albus that the booming in the sky was just the sounds of their family and friends fighting — and winning. James would  _ always  _ insist that they were winning. Even though he knew they weren’t.

Albus had outgrown the story, and he said he wasn’t afraid of thunder anymore. He didn’t seem to be afraid of anything at all for that matter. At 17, Albus was a son of war, desensitized to violence. When people brought wounded members of the resistance to the safe house, Albus didn’t blink. He merely watched with resigned numbness in his eyes, wordlessly helping Hermione as they worked to stop the bleeding; or at the very least make it so the man or woman would die without suffering too much.

James tried not to think about how angry Hermione and his uncle would be if they found out he was there. He wasn’t permitted to be around other witches or wizards without some kind of protection, because if they found out who he was then he would be slaughtered on the spot. Or worse, they would bring him to Voldemort. James shuddered at the thought before lifting a glass of scotch to his lips.

His eyes shifted to the side, where a familiar group of Deatheaters were situated at a round table. James had the perfect view of them from his vantage at the bar. They were regulars like him, and the only reason he knew they were part of Voldemort’s army was because of the way they boasted about it when they got their marks. James had been coming to the bar so often and eavesdropping on their conversations so much that he even knew their names.

They were a specialized unit within Voldemort’s army. Soldiers who answered to a woman who called herself The Augurey. She was infamous by now, and James had heard of her many times. She was a General under Voldemort, and thanks to Severus Snape’s undercover work at Hogwarts, they knew her name was Delphini. She was the unholy product of Voldemort sleeping with Bellatrix Lestrange, but to the resistance, she was just another figurehead they needed to remove in order to reach the Dark Lord.

After years of spying, they had managed to gather enough intel to confirm there were two other Generals aside from Delphini.

The Scorpion King was the youngest of the Generals. That’s what Snape had explained. His name was Scorpius. Snape insisted he hadn’t taken the mark and was the least of their problems, even if he’d taken the mantle as a General. Sometimes James got the feeling the old professor was trying to protect Scorpius from them, but couldn’t imagine why.

Then there was The Wolf. The resistance knew next to nothing about him, and Snape was unable to provide much intel either. All they had was speculation. They assumed The Wolf was Fenrir Greyback, but no one knew for sure. He was the one General they’d never been able to get a visual or name for. Snape claimed that even Voldemort spoke of him with a partial sneer.

He was a General within the Dark Lord’s army that even  _ he _ snubbed. It was intriguing, but James didn’t want to get distracted. He wasn’t supposed to be around Deatheaters at all, but he was so close to The Augurey he could practically smell her perfume.

If the others in the resistance knew what he was doing they’d put an immediate stop to it, so he never let it slip that he’d given himself a personal mission. They all thought he went into Muggle London, which was a hundred times safer than any of the magical establishments around the country.

James was happy to let them think that so he could keep doing this. He was  _ good  _ at it, and he’d collected valuable information that had come in handy dozens of times in the past. Sometimes James thought if he’d started doing this sooner, then maybe he would have been able to save Freddy’s life. Or Victoire’s. Or Dominique’s. Or Lucy or Molly’s.

He shut his eyes, squeezing the cold glass. He knew he never would have been able to save his father, mother or unborn sister — he’d been too young when they’d died — but his cousin’s were different. He could have helped them if he’d been strong enough. Freddy’s death had been the final push that broke James. That’s when he’d decided he wasn’t going to sit around in a safe house waiting for the war to be over.

James went out on his own and started to go undercover. It wasn’t hard to pretend he was someone else, because he looked nothing like his parents. What he was — something men were happy to express to him — was wildly attractive. That was something James never realized before, perhaps because he never had the chance to really care about how he looked. Now that he knew it, he took full advantage of it.

He was sixteen when he first slept with a man for information. It hurt a little, but James had been working at himself with toys to prepare for weeks before actually going to bed with someone. Getting the information he wanted had been effortless, lying on his stomach and letting the man fuck him before straddling his hips as he laid in bed, sated and half asleep. The mark on his arm made James nauseous, but he felt no guilt when he pointed his wand into the man’s sleepy face and murmured  _ Imperio. _

James knew it was an unforgivable curse, and casting it made him tremble in shame, but they were in a war. James didn’t care what he had to do, so long as he could protect what little family he had left in the world. Besides, it’s not like the Ministry ever paid attention to what spells people cast anymore. A sixteen year old casting the Imperius Curse could have been the child of a Deatheater just having some fun with a Muggle.

Nobody cared.

The Deatheater went limp under James, answering every question without an ounce of hesitation. James copied everything down by hand in a little journal he could fit in his pocket, then pointed his wand at the man again. He debated the consequences of killing him, but couldn’t bring himself to do it. A body probably would have brought too much suspicion down on him, so he flicked his wand and obliviated the Deatheater instead, removing every memory of that night. He wouldn’t remember sleeping with James, and he certainly wouldn’t remember spilling his guts after he’d climaxed.

That had been James’ process for the past four years. Seduce the male Deatheaters with overinflated egos, suck them dry of any information they had, erase their memories, and move on to the next one.

He’d been fucked by so many men that his body felt desensitized to the pleasure, and he’d gotten good at faking orgasms. Made way easier when he was on his stomach. Most of the men wanted him in that position anyway, because they didn’t want to see his face. That was fine by James; he didn’t want to look at them either.

Seducing men for information may have been wildly successful, but it never got easier. The shame of opening himself to people who played a part in the murder of so many that he loved burned him. James hated himself almost as much as he hated Voldemort, but he had no intention of stopping.

Those times when the internalized rage and shame was too much, James would lock himself somewhere quiet and draw the tip of his wand across the tender surface of his forearm. He’d hiss against the sting, watching the skin split, relishing in the pain for a moment before closing the cut with a practiced flick of his wrist. The self hate almost never left scarring. If anything there were strange lines on his arm that were a hint of a shade lighter than the rest of his skin, but no one would be able to tell unless they already knew the marks were there.

That was how James coped. He’d fuck the enemy before making himself bleed as punishment, then do it all over again. Whenever he started to waver, he would remember his father frantically shoving he and his brother into a closet. He would remember a tiny Albus curling into his arms and against his chest, whimpering as Harry wrapped a cloak around them before framing James’ face with his hands.

“Take care of your brother.”

That was the last thing Harry said to him before covering them both with the invisibility cloak and shutting the closet door. James covered Albus’ ears with his hands and cuddled him against his chest, leaning sideways to peer out the crack between the door and the door frame. He watched them slaughter his father that day, but had stayed in place holding his brother until Hermione and Ron came to the house and found them in the closet.

James vowed he’d never let anything happen to Albus, or to any of his cousins who’d managed to live this long. That’s why he kept doing the same thing, allowing himself to be viewed as an object for the pleasure of beastly men, because the information he milked from them helped him protect the people he loved so much.

The issue with his little talent was that it didn’t work on women — unless they happened to be interested in pegging a bloke — and all of Delphini’s Deatheaters were women. All James could do was nurse his scotch and strain his ears to catch what they were gossiping about. If he was lucky, he’d hear them talk about a mission they’d already gone on, or whisper something about Delphini that he already knew, but otherwise he didn’t get much from them.

His only hope was for a man to step through the door who was either already attracted to other men, or simply too sex deprived and horny to give a shit about what was between James’ legs. James was on his third glass by the time he started thinking about throwing in the towel and going back home. No one was coming in, and it was getting late.

Though James was happy to sleep around, he tried to get back to the safe house at a decent time. He didn’t want to worry any of the people he lived with, especially Albus. Though Albus was the last person to admit he was worried, he did have a tendency to nag at James when he got home late. He was impertinent, but he meant well.

James was finishing up his drink, ready to slip off the bar stool, when the door opened. The bell hanging on the brass handle rang to announce the newcomer, and James let his eyes wander lazily to them.

His heart skipped a beat in his chest before his brain could catch up to his eyes. James had never felt so flustered before, his jaw going slack and his body going wobbly as he openly stared at the man who’d stepped into the club.

He was tall and his shoulders were broad beneath the black leather jacket he wore. His skin was somewhat pale, and beneath his sharp jaw, James could see art tattooed onto the right side of his neck. He was too far away to make out what any of the pictures were, but James’ stare didn’t linger very long there anyway.

His eyes hungrily followed the lines in the man’s face. The curve of his nose that led down to his lips, then back up to his eyes. The color was jarring, shades that James had never seen in someone’s eyes before. Even from a distance he could make out the brilliant green, blue and orange that reminded him of peacock feathers, swirling together and blotched as if on canvas. As if a watercolor artist had painted his eyes. Were they natural? There was no way.

James had never felt his heart beat so fast, slamming into his rib-cage and booming into his ears. His hair was what James focused on, his mind reeling as his face burned. It was cobalt blue. Such a stunning shade of blue. That couldn’t have been natural either, right? Muggles had a remarkable tonic that could change the color of your hair; maybe this man had used that. Maybe he’d put in eye contacts as well, to get that unique coloring.

James didn’t know, but he couldn’t stop looking. His face had never felt this hot before. It made him uncontrollably dizzy. He felt his mouth water as the man slowly peeled off his leather jacket. Underneath it was a thin gray shirt that seemed to strain against his chest and stomach. James’ vision blurred for a moment, and when it cleared up he was uncomfortably aware of how tight his jeans had gotten.

He must have been staring too much, because the man turned his head in the direction of the bar, his eyes clashing with James’. James felt instantly flustered and panicked, his eyes going wide and his body going tight as he dropped his drink. He was forced to look away so he could catch the glass before it could fall off the bar, grabbing napkins and frantically mopping up the liquor as the girls from the Deatheater table snickered.

Perfect. The one thing that was missing from James’ day was a bunch of murder sluts laughing at him.

“Excuse me,” a voice spoke as James was wadding up the soiled napkins, making him tense before lifting his wide eyes to see the man with blue hair had come up to him.

“I’m sorry,” James blurted, gaping at the man.

He appeared curious, watching James with a particular expression he couldn’t quite translate. “Can I buy you a drink?” Was the last thing James expected him to ask. “To replace that one.”

James was about to say no. The liquid in his glass had been mostly water, and he’d been almost done with it anyway. It was getting late, and the sky outside was steadily going from gray to black. James had never been caught off guard like this before, he internally cursed at himself for his foolishness. There was no way this man could be a Deatheater though, right? James let his eyes shift down, faking shyness so he could look at the man’s arms.

He nearly drooled when he noticed the sleeves had been pushed up to the man’s elbows, showing off his impressive forearms. There were definitely tattoos, but James couldn’t see the telltale mark of a Deatheater. He nearly sighed in relief, glancing up at the man and giving him a sheepish smile.

“Please.”

The man sat on the stool next to James, lying his leather jacket on the bar next to him and leaning on the counter with folded arms. “What are you taking?”

“Scotch on the rocks,” James answered.

The man glanced at the bartender with a pointed expression, and the man scrambled to fill the order. He brought two glasses over, handing the scotch to James before filling the second glass with firewhiskey and handing that one to James’ new friend. The bartender took the soaked napkins from James before wiping down the bar, then skittered over to the other end. James watched him go, mildly confused. The bartender was the biggest man in the building — he had to be if he was serving Deatheaters — but he seemed genuinely squeamish around the blue haired man.

James watched him from the corner of his eyes as he took a sip of his drink. As close as he was, James was able to see the variety of piercings going up the man’s ear. That was really hot.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

The man was holding his glass up, staring at the whiskey as if contemplating whether or not to reveal his identity. “Edward.”

James was unable to stifle the soft laugh, propping his left elbow against the bar and setting his cheek against his fist. “I never would have guessed that. You don’t look like an Edward.”

“What do I look like?”

“I don’t know. Maybe an Axel.”

Edward choked on his whiskey, setting the glass down and covering his mouth with a hand. It gave James a good view of the rings he was wearing, but he was too startled by Edward’s reaction to look closer at them. For half a moment James was worried he’d offended him, until he pulled his hand away to reveal a smile painted across his face. The amusement he was trying to hide made James feel rather proud of himself, smiling in delight as Edward picked up a napkin from the bar to clean his face.

He cleared his throat. “People call me Teddy,” he said once he’d composed himself.

James was even more delighted at the revelation. “I really like that,” he admitted.

Teddy gave him a surprised look before picking his glass of whiskey back up. “What about you?”

“Jamie.”

He held his hand out towards Teddy, but for a moment the other man just stared at it. Eventually he reached out, almost timidly, shaking James’ hand with a firm grip. James couldn’t help wondering over how warm Teddy’s hand was. He had to force himself to let go.

“Nice to meet you,” Teddy said.

James brightened at the greeting, tilting his head to see Teddy’s face better. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in here before. Do you come here often?”

Teddy gave a short laugh. “No. I don’t usually drink around other people.”

There was something tight about Teddy’s body language that James honed in on. Somehow he could feel the stress radiating from him, and part of James wanted to offer his “services” to relieve some of that tension. James had never done that before, though; he’d never gone home with a man he was genuinely attracted to.

Sex had always been a means to an end, so feeling hot for a man he’d never met before was dizzying. It was always a job for James, he didn’t know if he could justify seducing someone simply because he really wanted to get naked with them.

“What brought you out tonight?” James found himself prying, leaning closer to Teddy.

He slowly set down his glass before answering. “Bad day at work,” he explained vaguely, and James didn’t even care that the answer was suspicious.

“And you sat next to me of all people,” James wondered. Teddy turned to meet his eye, so James offered him a smile. He moved closer to Teddy, dropping his hand to the bar. “Maybe I can help somehow?” He asked in a low voice.

He was close enough to see Teddy’s pupils expand to drown the color of his iris in black. He stared at James in curiosity and want. James didn’t want to come across as a predator or sex crazed, so he softened his expression and watched Teddy in something like sympathy.

“You did buy me a drink. You should let me return the favor.”

Teddy was clearly intrigued, facing James before reaching his right hand across the bar, slipping his fingers across the back of James’ hand. He leaned closer and James felt his breath hitch in his throat. Teddy paused, looking even more curious than before as his eyes searched James’ face. They were sitting just inches apart now. Teddy was holding James by the wrist in a loose grip. James felt like his heart was going to burst out of his throat, but Teddy remained composed. It almost seemed like he was waiting for something, thinking hard before making a decision after going through the pros and cons of the situation in front of him.

“What did you have in mind?” He asked in a low voice of his own.

James’ head spun, staring at Teddy’s lips. He noticed a tiny scar near the edge of his bottom lip, and heat flushed over him. This attractive bastard used to have a lip ring. James wrapped his fingers around Teddy’s hand and stood up, tugging once to get the man to follow him.

James led him out the door, pulling on his hoodie as he went. The sky had darkened, and the street lamps had flickered on. A strong, biting breeze was gusting down the narrow cobbled street, and James was almost tempted to go back inside to do this in the restroom. It was freezing, but he bet on the heat in his veins to keep him warm.

“Over here,” James directed, looking over his shoulder in time to see Teddy pulling his leather jacket back on.

He quickly followed after James, even when James stepped off the sidewalk and into an alley. James saw a hint of anxiety in Teddy’s eyes, and his steps faltered as he glanced over his shoulder. There was an instinct in his stature, a fight or flight response that everyone had. They needed it. They grew up with it. James, and Teddy, had grown up in the midst of a war. It was essential to be on edge and prepared for any situation that could potentially turn bloody.

James didn’t hold it against Teddy, and shuffled back over to him slowly. He kept his shoulders relaxed, the gentle smile returning to his face as he lifted his hands with the palms up, trying to appear as unthreatening as possible.

“I’m not an assassin, in case that’s what you were thinking.” Teddy looked skeptical, so James tried again, holding his arms out. “You can search me if you want,” he encouraged, and he actually really wanted Teddy to take him up on the offer. When he didn’t, James dropped his arms to search his pockets, brandishing his wand and holding it out for Teddy. “Alright, then you can hold this if it makes you feel better.”

He had no intentions of giving his wand up, but it was always a good way to gain the trust of his targets. Teddy wasn’t a target though. James genuinely wanted him to be at ease.

The offer made Teddy look shell shocked, then sheepish. “I wouldn’t take your defense away from you,” he argued softly.

James smiled timidly at him, putting the wand back into his hoodie pocket before holding his hand out. It sent a painful dart of emotion through him when Teddy accepted his hand. He’d never wanted someone to trust him this much before. He eagerly showed Teddy deeper into the alley, until they were hidden between a stack of empty wooden crates and a dumpster.

Teddy looked a little put off by the hiding place, but seemed to warm up to it when James immediately dropped to his knees. It was hard to see in the dark alley, and Teddy surprised James by snapping his fingers. Blue flames flared up from his fingertips. James gawked up at him for a moment before searching around. He found a broken jar underneath the crates, handing it to Teddy so he could pour the blue flames into it, creating a makeshift lamp. James set in on the ground before eagerly reaching up to Teddy’s jeans. The flames only provided a bit of light, but it was enough for James to find the buckle of Teddy’s belt, loosening it with trembling hands before tugging at the button of his jeans.

James had no idea what had come over him. He’d given blowjobs before, in this exact spot, but he’d never been this excited to have a cock in his mouth; and fuck, Teddy’s cock was like nothing he’d seen before. The man was hung. James felt his arse clench in want as his mouth watered. He wanted it in his arse as much as he wanted it in his mouth.

He brought his hands up to hold Teddy’s cock in a firm grip, opening his mouth and sticking his tongue out to taste the head. James couldn’t stop himself from moaning in delight when he first tasted Teddy. He shuffled closer on his knees and relaxed his jaw as he took the cock into his mouth. For a moment he spent time exclusively on the bulbous tip, letting saliva build in his mouth as he twisted his mouth around the head of Teddy’s cock. He let his spit spill out from between his lips, dribbling down the shaft as his hands began to stroke up and down, tilting his head to take Teddy’s cock against the firm roof of his mouth.

Teddy gave a grunt of surprise, one hand bracing against the brick wall as the other reached down to grip the fringe of James’ hair. James looked up at him through his eyelashes, and the debauched expression on Teddy’s face spurred him on, moaning around the man’s cock.

He pulled back to suck on the head, twisting his hands around the shaft and popping his mouth off. Teddy’s hips jerked and James looked up to see the shocked desire on his face as he took the cock back into his mouth. He closed his lips around the head, sucking and rolling his tongue around what was in his mouth as Teddy gave a broken moan. James moaned back in response, keeping his lips closed and pressing the flat of his tongue on the underside of Teddy’s cock as he moved his head forward and took more of the shaft into his mouth.

James let his hands move up Teddy’s thighs, digging his fingertips into the bare skin of his hip as his other hand teased up his stomach, under his shirt to scrape his nails against the firm plane of his stomach. It made James buzz in pleasure to feel the way Teddy’s muscles tensed and spasmed when James did something he particularly enjoyed. He moaned gratuitously around the cock in an attempt to get Teddy to moan with him, because he wanted to hear it. James wanted to hear the panting and moaning and sighs as Teddy ran his fingers through James’ hair, rolling his hips to get his cock deeper into the other man’s mouth.

His moans of appreciation made James swell in pride, looking up and meeting Teddy’s eyes. The man looked wrecked. James relaxed his jaw and opened his throat, taking a breath in through his nose before taking Teddy as deep into his throat as he could manage, then swallowed so spasms of pressure would roll along Teddy’s shaft.

Teddy gave a pathetic noise, both hands gripping James by the hair, and James kept his eyes on Teddy’s as the cock throbbed and pulsed. He could feel the come dribbling down his throat, moaning in appreciation before opening his mouth and slowly backing away to remove the cock. He gently ran a hand up and down the shaft, nestling closer to bite the skin of Teddy’s inner thigh.

He let go when Teddy grunted and jerked his hips back, smiling dreamily up at the other man and rubbing his thigh tenderly. “Ever come from a blowjob before?”

Teddy looked speechless in awe, staring at James with a tenderness that hadn’t been there before. He shook his head and James laughed, getting to his feet. Teddy tucked himself away and zipped up his jeans, buckling his belt as a roll of thunder sounded above them. James tilted his head back to glance at the sky as the first drops of rain hit his face.

He felt immediately disappointed that they wouldn’t get to go further, but at least he’d gotten to suck Teddy off. That had been fun. James pulled the thin hood over his head, ignoring the way he soaked through in seconds and smiling at Teddy. The man still looked like he was lost in a dream, and James almost wanted to laugh.

“I should go before it gets worse.”

“Wait.” Teddy grabbed James by the hand when he turned away, pulling him closer. James turned back to stare at Teddy in surprise, their faces inches apart. “I can take you home.”

James snorted. “You probably shouldn’t. My uncle would have a fit.”

“Oh… then…” Teddy seemed to think, and there was a hint of desperation on his face. “What about spending the night with me?”

James was taken aback by the offer. He’d never spent the night with anyone before, he’d never really wanted or needed to. The way Teddy was staring at him made it hard to say no. What was the better choice? Go home and take care of his uncomfortably tight jeans using one of the toys under his bed? Or go home with Teddy and let the man repay the favor of that amazing blowjob by fucking James into his mattress?

“Do you have clothes I can sleep in?” James asked as he stepped closer, his fingers slowly slipping between Teddy’s. “Mine are soaked, and we’ve only been standing here for a few minutes.”

“I think I can find something for you,” Teddy said in a growl, “though I don’t think you’ll need it.”

James rubbed his cheek against Teddy’s chin, turning his face to brush his lips against his jaw. He pulled Teddy’s hand closer, pressing his palm against the bulge in his jeans so Teddy could feel for himself how crazed with lust James was.

“You’re right,” he said, and lights danced before his eyes as Teddy stroked his hand over his cock. He reached up to grip Teddy’s neck, panting against his mouth. “I want more.”

“I’ll give you more,” Teddy promised, and James closed his eyes as the pouring rain extinguished the blue flames in the little jar.

* * *

Teddy’s bedroom was dark save the fire that was burning in the hearth. When they apparated into the room, James didn’t have much time to take everything in, but he did comment to himself how cool it was that Teddy had his own fireplace. It was probably an old house.

Teddy left James’ side in order to cross the room, pulling out his wand and locking the door with spells and the bolts already set in the door. The half of James’ brain that wasn't drowning in lust thought it was strange to have so many slide and chain locks on the inside of his bedroom door.

The horny half didn’t care.

“What are you doing?” Teddy asked when James pulled his phone from his pocket.

“Lying to my brother,” James answered honestly, sending the text and shutting his phone off before peeling his soaked hoodie from his back.

“Do you want to dry off first?” Teddy walked up to James slowly, watching him with dark eyes.

James pulled at his damp shirt, eyeing the other man. “Why? Are you afraid I’ll get the bed wet?” He smiled and reached down to tease the hem of his shirt. “Wanna help me out with this?”

Teddy quickened his pace to clear the last few feet between them, shucking his leather jacket off and throwing it to the side. His hands grabbed James by the waist, his head ducking to breath against his neck. James tilted his head, his nerves on fire and his eyes rolling closed as Teddy mouthed at the muscle of his shoulder.

The wet heat against his cold skin made him buzz, and he gave a moan when Teddy began to suck. He dragged his tongue over the sensitive skin where his neck met his shoulder, each kiss sending waves of pleasure down James’ spine.

He wasn’t expecting Teddy to sink his teeth in, pressing them deeper until it was at the brink of being uncomfortable. James gave a little noise. Teddy seemed to take it as confirmation to do more. He slid his hands around James’ hips to grab the globes of his arse, squeezing and pulling James in so their crotches would grind together. The pleasure was unexpected, blending exquisitely with the twinge of pain in his neck. His head spun and he made a noise he never knew he was capable of.

Teddy finally released his neck, lifting one hand to cradle the back of James’ head and licking the flat of his tongue over the stinging bite he’d left. He left the other hand on James’ arse, keeping the other man in place as he rolled his hips forward to meet James’. The tender care to his neck and the slow press of their hips moving together was indescribable. James whimpered.

Over the years James had gotten used to a specific kind of sex. Rough, quick, and not at all satisfying. He’d climaxed a few times, but the majority ruled he would be left hard, angry and ashamed of himself. This was the first time a partner had tended to him like this. He’d certainly never had a lover bite him. The teeth in his neck and the hand on his arse were both unexpectedly possessive actions, and James wasn’t at all deterred by them. In fact, he wanted Teddy to bite him again. The sting rounded out the lust and made his mind foggy, and James was convinced if Teddy did it enough times, he would come while standing up.

Teddy was sucking on a spot on his neck beneath his ear when James realized he was still wearing damp clothes. He grumbled a bit, pushing at Teddy. “Let me strip.”

“I’ll do it,” Teddy quickly offered.

He pulled the shirt over James’ head and threw it, his eyes getting even darker as his hands touched James’ bare sides. His hands roamed aimlessly over James, feeling up his ribs before following the bumps of his spine to his shoulder blades, pressing his mouth to James’ forehead as his fingers finally went to his jeans. When they were open, James backed away, taking it upon himself to kick off his shoes and socks before shimmying out of his pants. After they were off, Teddy was touching him again with searing, possessive hands.

Teddy kept one hand on his hip as he led James backwards. James felt giddy when the backs of his knees bumped against the edge of the mattress, and he gave a laugh as he let himself tumble onto it. He was shocked by how good the duvet felt. Soft, downy, heavy and cool against his rapidly heating skin. Teddy fell over him, hands propped on either side of his head, and the darkness of his eyes seemed to shine with something deeper than lust.

James got the impression it was due to his laughter, so he smiled up at Teddy and reached for the belt of his jeans. “Let me see your cock again,” he pleaded.

Teddy stood off the bed and undid his belt. “Make yourself comfortable,” he urged, and James did so.

He scuffled himself higher onto the bed, nestling himself in the pile of pillows at the headboard and getting cozy. His hand rubbed his own stomach before reaching down to his boxers, stroking himself through the material as he watched Teddy with hooded eyes. The other man was quick to get his shoes and socks off, awkwardly maneuvering out of his jeans before throwing them blindly to the side.

James slipped his hand into his boxers to touch himself directly when Teddy removed his underwear. His cock was already back at half mast, hanging between his legs and still glistening from the attention James had given it before. James licked his lips, tugging on his prick and lifting his hips to tempt Teddy closer.

Teddy crawled onto the bed and up to James, situating himself so he was between the other man’s legs. For a moment he jerked at his own cock, watching James do the same with a wild, carnal expression. He didn’t stop James, but he did reach out to remove his boxers so he was completely nude. James spread his thighs and lifted his hips, feeling a swell of pride when Teddy’s cock jerked. Like it knew exactly where it wanted to be.

“Should I turn over?” James asked. That was how he always let people fuck him.

Teddy looked confused at the question, though. He leaned over James, moving purposely to brush their cocks together. James gave a whine of pleasure, his body starting to tremble.

“I want to see your face when I fuck you,” Teddy said, his voice rumbling in his chest.

James’ vision went out of focus as his breath hitched in his chest. He had to pinch his eyes closed to keep from climaxing right there. He wasn’t used to being touched so much. His entire body was on fire. So he spread his legs further and wiggled his hips to show he was ready. Teddy carefully positioned a pillow beneath James’ hips to keep his arse up, and it was yet another act that James wasn’t used to. Then Teddy did something even more confusing. Instead of grabbing James by the leg and shoving his cock inside, Teddy backed away, and James gaped at him in duress.

“Where are you going?” He asked, his eyes growing even wider when Teddy got to his elbows and reached around James’ legs to hold his thighs in place.

He buried his face in James’ arse, and James let a string of whines and moans leave his lips as Teddy began to rim him like his life depended on it. Each wet caress of his tongue made his hips shudder, his body shaking furiously as his stomach clenched. James threw his head back when Teddy pushed his tongue past the tight rim to taste deeper. The tip of his tongue dipped in and out as his hands stroked James’ thighs sweetly. Teddy moaned against him as if his arse was the best thing he’d ever had.

“Teddy, Teddy, please, please, please,” James moaned, reaching up to grab the headboard. His hips seemed to move on their own, rocking in such a way that Teddy’s tongue touched deeper inside. “I’m gonna come, I’m—”

He gave another whine of protest when Teddy pulled away, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. “Never had your arse eaten out?” He inquired, and James blushed down to his chest. Teddy bent down to kiss James above his naval. “So I’m your first. Did it feel good?”

James bobbed his head in a nod, watching Teddy hungrily as he shuffled up the bed to reach his dresser. He wanted to kick his legs in protest when he came back with a bottle of lube. “No more, please, just fuck me,” he whimpered.

Teddy looked completely against the idea, returning to his position between James’ legs. “You’re too tight. It would just hurt you.”

“I don’t care,” James assured. “I’m used to it hurting.” Teddy furrowed his brow, staring at James with an expression he couldn’t quite read. He rolled his hips again. “Please?”

Teddy just lifted his chin, popping the lube open. “You can come if you want,” he said, holding his right hand out and squeezing lube onto his fingers. “I’m not finished with you yet.”

James gave a little squeak, it was the only thing he could manage. He trembled in overstimulation, staring between his legs as Teddy pushed against one of his thighs. James silently obeyed the order to open his legs further, biting his lip as Teddy began to probe at his arse hole. It was a gentle pressure at first. Fingers poking and stroking around the muscle. Teddy propped James’ right leg over his shoulder before moving his left hand to stroke James’ stomach.

“It’ll feel good, I promise,” he soothed. Warmth seemed to spill across James as he relaxed into the pillows, his head falling back and his eyes rolling closed as Teddy pushed his finger inside. “There it is. That’s it.”

He pushed his finger an inch deeper before pulling it out, and James felt the chill of lube against his hole before the finger returned. It got deeper that time, thrusting with an obvious purpose. James breathed slowly, his head nestled in the pillows, one hand gripping the headboard and the other fisting the duvet. His body seemed to heat and soften around Teddy’s finger, and after a few moments he began to roll his hips gently to feel more.

James hummed peacefully. It didn’t hurt, it wasn’t even uncomfortable, but the stimulation had lessened so he didn’t feel like he would come at any second. It was more of a relaxing massage than anything else, and when Teddy pushed in a second finger, James was more than ready for it. He keened at the slight pressure against his rim as his arse got used to having two fingers inside instead of one. Teddy stopped his stroking in order to add more lube. James wanted to remark that he didn’t have to use the entire bottle, but held back.

Teddy continued to stroke his stomach as he thrust his fingers slowly, curling them and pressing deeper before scissoring them to open James up. Then he added a third finger. James felt the press inside now, rolling his hips a little more incessantly and desperately. He wanted to feel more. He wanted to feel his hole stretch obscenely to accommodate Teddy’s cock, and he wanted his breath to be fucked out of his lungs.

“Now?” James asked, and Teddy slipped his fingers from his arse.

“You're nice and soft now.”

He shuffled closer, readjusting James’ hips on the pillow and pouring more of the lube onto his cock to get it slick. James could hear the debauched sound of Teddy fucking his own hand, so he whimpered and jerked his hips eagerly.

“Tell me if I hurt you,” Teddy growled, but James barely heard him.

The only thing he could hear was his heartbeat drumming in his ears. He could still feel the slight sting on his neck from where Teddy had bitten him, but even that wasn’t enough to pull his attention away from the buzz in his hips.

James shuffled around to prop himself against the pillows, giving him a better view of Teddy and what he was doing. Teddy was holding his cock, stroking over the shaft as he eased closer, moving his free hand to hold James’ thigh where his leg was still hooked over his shoulder. 

Teddy rubbed the prick of his cock against James’ slick hole, pressing against the rim. James’ breath caught in his lungs at the familiar ache in his lower back, his legs shaking as Teddy gripped his hips and slowly began to slide his cock in. Stars flashed in James’ eyes as his rim stretched around Teddy’s shaft, moaning in pure lust. He shut his eyes for a moment to simply experience the penetration. It was so different from what he was used to, and he struggled to get a good breath in as his rim clenched around Teddy’s shaft, wanting him deeper.

Teddy leaned forward, letting James’ leg slip from his shoulder to catch on the hook of his elbow. He stroked his hand up James’ stomach to his chest, ducking his head to catch one of his nipples between his teeth. James jerked at the sensation, and Teddy’s cock slipped in deeper. He hummed erotically, throwing an arm over his eyes.

James let his hand travel over Teddy’s shoulder, fisting the material of the shirt he was still wearing and tugging on it. “Off,” James whined, moving his other arm away from his face so it was above his head, staring up at Teddy in irritation as the man pulled off his chest.

“What?”

“You’re still wearing a shirt.”

Teddy looked shocked, moving a hand to the chest of his shirt. It was like he hadn’t even realized he was still half dressed, staring down with a contemplative expression. James could feel his unease, and his heart seemed to seize in his chest. He reached up to Teddy, who leaned closer so James could wrap his arms behind his neck.

“I want to see you,” James murmured, brushing his nose against Teddy’s. “All of you.”

The same gleam from before flashed in Teddy’s eyes, before it was replaced with something scared and desperate. He held James’ face in his hands and kissed him. James’ eyes rolled closed, his fingers raking through the back of Teddy’s hair before gripping the back of his shirt with his other hand. Teddy’s tongue was in his mouth, frenching him with a hot passion James hadn’t expected. James was barely able to register that it was his first kiss before Teddy was rolling his hips, thrusting into him.

James gasped when Teddy lifted off of him, sitting back on his heels but keeping up the steady pace. He continued to move his hips in a dizzying rhythm that had his cock slipping deeper with each forward motion. Teddy reached up with his right hand to grab the back of his shirt, tearing it over his head. He didn’t seem to care enough to throw it and just dropped it on the bed beside him before gripping James’ legs and hauling himself closer.

James could only stare as emotion roiled from his chest to his gut and back up, like an hourglass that couldn’t remember which way to go. There were tattoos marking Teddy’s left arm up to his shoulder and down his chest, stopping at his left breast, not going any lower; and there were scars.

Angry white slash marks across his chest and stomach. It looked like someone had beaten him with a belt or whipped him. Maybe someone had cut him? James didn’t know, but seeing them made his chest ache. He wanted to hold Teddy, but when he lifted his arms, Teddy hesitated. He eventually moved closer, hooking both of James’ legs over his shoulders, sinking his cock as he lowered himself to hover over James.

Their eyes were locked and Teddy kept his hips moving as James slid his hands over Teddy’s arms, letting his fingertips follow the design of the tattoos on his arm and shoulder before cupping the side of his neck and pulling him in for another kiss. Teddy moaned into James’ mouth, and butterflies fluttered around James’ stomach.

He stroked his knuckles down Teddy’s chest to where the scars were. Teddy shuddered, a hand fisting in the top of James’ hair. The slow roll of his hips changed to a sharp thrust, his thighs smacking against James’ arse as he fucked into him, hard. It was sudden, but familiar at the same time, and James cried out in ecstasy.

Teddy fucked the air out of James perfectly, and it was better than James had even imagined. Every nerve in his body was alight with feeling. No one ever told him that kissing while fucking would feel so good. Teddy fucked him breathless, half buried in the pillows and moaning like he’d never been touched before. James twisted in the duvet, messing up the sheets and clinging to Teddy’s shirt when his hand found it.

He stared at Teddy as he brought the shirt up, holding it to his mouth and nose and breathing in the man’s musky scent. James had the perfect view of the way something snapped in Teddy’s eyes. He closed himself over James, wrapping him in his arms and kissing him hard as he pistoned his hips. James’ vision went white, his legs slipping in the sweat on Teddy’s shoulders and catching on his arms. He spasmed beneath Teddy, climaxing with a loud cry and raking his nails down Teddy’s back. His arse clenched on Teddy, who grunted into his ear before his body went tight.

For a moment neither of them moved. They held onto each other and breathed heavily. James inhaled Teddy’s scent, shutting his eyes as his body relaxed. When both their breathing had returned to normal, Teddy unwound his arms and sat back. He took James’ hips gently in his hands and pulled out. Slowly, as if he wanted to relish in the way James keened, his back arching with a moan before sinking back into the mattress.

James lazily opened his eyes when he heard Teddy shift on the bed, running a hand through his hair and rolling his head. Teddy was searching through the drawer in his bedside table, pulling out a pack of wet wipes before slipping back onto the bed. The aftercare was another thing James hadn’t been expecting, because he’d never experienced it before. It was gentle and tender, and at the end of it James felt inexplicably bonded to Teddy.

James wiggled his way under the duvet, blanket, and silky sheets when Teddy left the bed to throw out the wipes. The bed was made so well that it was almost constricting beneath the blankets, but James didn’t mind at all. He wanted to call Teddy back to join him, but kept his mouth shut as he curiously watched Teddy disappear through another door.

The bathroom, James guessed. He rolled onto his back to look around the room while Teddy was gone. It wasn’t as big as he'd assumed from his initial impression, but it was still bigger than any bedroom James had seen before.

There was a dark green couch set up in front of the fireplace with a glass coffee table between them. Black curtains hung in front of two windows, and it took James a moment to realize he was lying in a bed with a canopy.

Bookshelves were built into most of the walls, completely filled with texts, and a large rolling desk that was currently closed was pushed against the wall. There were paintings and tapestries hanging on the walls, and James had to note how much wolf memorabilia there was.

That wasn’t necessarily weird, though. Wolves were incredible animals and deserving of admiration. There was nothing in Teddy’s room that looked suspicious, and James began to relax, lying back against the pile of pillows.

He felt like he was already falling asleep when Teddy returned. James peeled his eyes open to watch him set down a glass of water.

“In case you’re thirsty,” Teddy said. He pulled the blankets back and laid down beside James.

They laid in silence for a time, but truly James didn’t know what to say. Having sex with Teddy had been a completely new experience. The pleasure was indescribable, and he felt so calm and blissfully sated afterwards. Teddy’s attention to aftercare made James feel like he actually mattered, and maybe even more unexpected, James didn’t feel ashamed. He didn’t feel the need to punish himself.

He couldn’t help but stare at the scars on Teddy’s chest and stomach. James slid closer to the man, wrapping his arm over Teddy’s stomach and nuzzling against him. Teddy went rigid, and for a moment James was worried he would shove him off.

“Sorry,” James said, shuffling away from Teddy. “I just thought—”

“No, no, come back,” Teddy urged, reaching out to hold James’ hand, pulling him closer. “I’m just… not used to this.”

James stared at him. “Used to what?”

Teddy looked uncomfortable. “The afterglow, I guess.”

James sank into the pillows. “I’m not either. I’m not used to anything we did tonight.”

“That was your first time?” Teddy asked, looking shocked, and James laughed.

“No, no, just… feeling that good.” James eased back over to Teddy, wrapping his arm around his waist. “It was amazing.”

“Yeah,” Teddy agreed, hesitantly winding his arm around James’ shoulders.

“And it’s okay if I hold you?” James asked.

Teddy tensed up again before he fully relaxed into the pillows. “Yeah.”

As soon as he had consent, James snuggled closer to Teddy. He buried his face against the man’s neck, practically lying on top of him. Teddy pulled the duvet over James before carding a hand through his hair. James fell asleep with his head against Teddy’s shoulder and the man’s arms wrapped around him.

For a moment nothing else existed, and James could almost imagine the blue sky that his uncle would always talk about. That night James dreamt of a sky as blue as Teddy's hair.

When he woke up he could still hear the rain pattering against the window. There was an ache in his lower back that made his entire body warm, and he was still curled around Teddy. It seemed like neither of them had moved at all, as if they'd been too tired after the previous night's activities. James was silently pleased, turning his head to press his face against Teddy's neck, kissing the skin there as his left hand stroked the man's abdomen.

Teddy was snoring noticeably, showing he was still fast asleep. James nuzzled his nose against his cheek, kissing the edge of his mouth before lying back down. His fingers traced the deep scarring on Teddy's stomach. He smiled when Teddy gave an appreciative rumble that vibrated in his chest. James could imagine Teddy could feel the tender touch even unconscious, and continued his finger's curious roaming.

James was tempted to lift the blankets just to take a peek at what was between Teddy's legs. To admire it of course, he wasn't going to touch. He went as far as to reach out and pinch the sheets, biting his lip and holding in a giggle.

A loud, sudden knocking at the door interrupted him. So loud that it seemed to reverberate through the room. Teddy shot straight up with a gasp, and James slumped off to the side, staring up at him as his hair went from blue to shock white instantaneously. 

James' mouth fell open in surprise as Teddy sat there clinging to the sheets. More knocking, this time accompanied by a woman's voice.

"Rise and shine, blue butterfly! You can't stay in bed all day, you've got work!"

"Who's that?" James asked, and Teddy flinched as if he'd forgotten James was there.

He scrambled to get out of bed, yanking his jeans on without boxers and whipping out his wand. In an instant all of James’ belongings were in his arms, and Teddy reached out to grab him, dragging him out of the bed and towards the bathroom.

"Teddy what's—"

"Stay in here," Teddy ordered as he pushed James through the door and shoved the clothes into his arms. "Don't make a single sound, be as silent as possible, and do not move."

James was so shocked he didn't even answer as Teddy shut the door on him. He felt too anxious to turn on the light, so he uttered a  _ lumos  _ spell so he could see. James wasn't fond of how vulnerable he felt being naked in the bathroom, so he quickly dressed before  _ nox _ -ing the light and shuffling up to the door. He cracked it open despite Teddy's orders, peering towards the bedroom door.

Teddy was standing there. His hair was still white, and with his back to James, the younger man could see the other scars marring his shoulders and down the expanse of his back. James swallowed down the knot in his throat, straining his ears to hear better. He couldn't see who was at the door, but he could still hear them.

"Don't you look lovely. I certainly hope you plan on wearing a shirt today."

"What do you want?"

"Stop talking as if this is such an inconvenience," the woman snapped, and James saw Teddy's back muscles tense. "My father wants to talk to you about what happened yesterday, so you'd better hurry up. Also, since it's Wednesday, it's your turn to cook breakfast, and you're already late. Scor wants pancakes."

"Why can't you make them?" Teddy demanded and the woman sighed.

"Because he says I make them wrong! Why are you complaining, we have a cooking schedule for a reason! You do meals today, Scor does the house chores, and I get the day off!"

"Like you ever pull your weight around here as it is," Teddy grumbled, and the woman laughed.

"You better watch yourself. I'm the only reason you're still allowed to live here."

Teddy's shoulders slowly sagged, and his hair went from white to a sickening greenish yellow color.

"Better," the woman praised. "Now, are you going to invite your friend down to breakfast?"

"What are you talking about?"

"Think I don't recognize dirty sex when I smell it, Edward? It's already unusual for you to bring dates home, but to have them stay the night? That's unheard of. He must be quite a special young man. I'd love to meet—"

Teddy slammed his hand against the door frame to make a barricade, physically keeping whoever he was speaking to from entering. His hair changed rapidly to an angry red color and his shoulders tensed again. Everything about his body language was threatening, and James hugged the door as a shiver went down his spine.

He heard the woman click her tongue. "So possessive. That's a really ugly personality trait you know. Well, whatever. Just make sure you-know-who doesn't find out."

James watched as the woman finally stepped into view. The light from the hallway shone down on her, showing off the silvery hair and dark eyes. She lifted her hand to touch the side of Teddy's face, smiling.

"Don't forget what happened last time."

Then she pulled her hand back and turned, and Teddy slammed the door shut behind her.

He leaned forward, pressing his head against the wood. James pushed the bathroom door open and stepped back into the room, walking slowly as he approached Teddy. His shoulders were shaking, and the red of his hair had faded to a rust color, settling on brown. James couldn't tell if he was crying or what, but he couldn't squash the desire to comfort the man.

So he came up to Teddy, reaching out to him. "Hey—"

The instant James touched Teddy, the man reacted. He spun away from James, snatching his wrist in a vice like grip and twisting his arm painfully behind his back, practically throwing him against the door and pressing him against it.

"It's me!" James squeaked. "It's just me! Owe."

Teddy gasped and let go of him, staggering back. His hair was white again, and he grabbed at the sides as he stared at James in horror.

"Oh no, no, no, I'm so sorry, I'm sorry. Jamie I'm so sorry I didn't — I didn't mean to hurt you. Oh god, oh Merlin." He buried his face in his hands.

James pushed away from the door, reaching over to touch his shoulder as his arm hung limply at his side. "I'm okay, Teddy I'm okay. It didn't hurt that bad. It's my fault, I shouldn't have come up on you like that."

"No, I shouldn't have done that," Teddy said miserably into his hands. "I'm so sorry, Jamie. I didn't mean to do that. I promise I didn't do it on purpose."

"It's okay. I know, I just surprised you." James stepped forward, reaching out to touch Teddy's hand gently. "Teddy, hey. I'm fine. No harm done." He lifted his arm, fighting the wince and curling his fingers. "See? Perfectly fine."

Teddy stared at his hand for a moment before slowly lowering his arms. He still looked utterly miserable, so James held his face between his hands.

"I forgive you, Teddy."

That seemed to make the man feel worse. He shut his eyes and turned away. "You have to go now."

"Already?" James asked, and Teddy nodded.

"You have a brother, you said. He'll be worried. I have… work. You have to go."

"Oh…" James stared at Teddy for a moment, but Teddy didn't lift his head. "Can I see you again later?" James asked hopefully, and Teddy winced, pressing his lips together.

"That might be a bad idea," he admitted softly, and James felt himself deflate.

"Then… so I just won't ever see you again?"

"It would probably be for the best." Teddy clenched his hands into fists at his sides. "Go. Now. Before she comes back."

"Who was she? Your housemate?"

"I said go!" Teddy snapped as he turned to James.

James gaped at him, and Teddy seemed to crumple under his gaze, turning away again so he wouldn't have to meet James' eye. 

James wanted to scream at him, but the pain in his chest overwhelmed his anger. He felt like he was being rejected. He shuffled closer to Teddy, and the man didn't flinch when James reached out to take his arm, pulling him a bit closer. James leaned up and pressed a kiss onto Teddy's cheek, his lips lingering a moment before he pulled away.

"Thank you for last night," he whispered to him. "I never knew it was possible to feel that wanted and cared for." He stepped back, releasing Teddy's arm and turning his back to the man. "Take care of yourself, Edward."

Then he pulled his wand from his hoodie, disapparating from the room with a crack. 


	3. All That's Left Is Smoke And Ash

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the only thing we had in common with each other  
> Was destroying everything we ever touched  
> So cheers to us and what we had  
> Let's keep dancing on the broken glass  
> And all that's left is smoke and ash  
> So let's keep dancing on the broken glass
> 
> — "Broken Glass" Kygo ft. Kim Petras

The rain was coming down now. It didn’t make much of a difference when the entire day had been gray and cold, but it was still something Albus always noted. The pattering of rain on the roof, the flash of white lightning as it streaked through the clouds, and the rumble of thunder that had his heart beating faster in his chest. He shut his eyes against the sound, counting to five before reopening them. His phone was already in his hand when it buzzed, turning his head down as he unlocked the screen to read the text from James.

**_RE:_ ** _ Rain’s slowed transportation. Too risky to apparate in this. I’ll find a hotel for the night. Stay inside and let uncle know I’m safe. _

Albus felt a knot form in his throat, half panicked and half pissed off. James was an idiot. He knew it was going to rain but he went out anyway. Normally he’d always get home before it got too late, no matter what the weather was like. He’d never been out all night before. Albus didn’t know what to think of it.

James was a free spirit. It was strange considering the lot of them were locked inside the safe house nine times out of ten. They’d been raised in isolation, sheltered from the chaos of the war beyond the walls, yet James was still so mischievous and reckless. As if his stupid brain didn’t comprehend that if he was caught, he was fucking dead.

The irony of the situation tasted bitter, and Albus screwed his nose up to make a face as he shoved his phone in his pocket without responding. Albus always responded, so hopefully James had a heart attack when his younger brother didn’t answer his stupid text. Bastard deserved it for being so foolish.

Going out all the time, pretending that all he was doing was traversing through Muggle London to see the sights, promising he was avoiding any and all wizarding sub-communities. If the family actually believed that, they were as stupid as James.

Not that Albus could call them out for it. That would bring too much attention to himself. Currently he was sitting with his back to a closed door, straining his ears to hear the conversation going on in the room on the other side. He lifted his wand to his ear in order to enhance his ability to listen, cocking his head to hear through the crack at the door jamb and concentrating. At first he only heard mumbles. He twisted the wand and froze when he was finally able to pick up on the voices, carefully placing a name and face to each one so he knew who was in the room.

“This is hopeless.”

“Don’t say that. There are still a lot of us.”

“I keep saying we should just leave—”

“We’re not bloody leaving! We can’t just leave!”

That was his Uncle Ron, Hermione, and Uncle George. Albus couldn’t blame George really. The pain of losing his son was still fresh. The incident hadn’t been fair, and George blamed James. Albus thought it was an inevitable end that the majority of them, he included, were destined for. To die at the hand of a Deatheater. Albus had accepted that. George should hurry and accept it too.

“It’s been weeks since we’ve gotten any new information.” That was Uncle Bill. “We’re still looking, but I agree with Ron. We can’t leave the boys, and we can’t leave the country. Especially not with that man running the Wizarding World.”

“We owe it to Harry—”

“We don’t owe him anything.” Albus winced; that voice belonged to Dennis Creevey. “How many more people have to die for the Boy Who Lived? We can’t keep doing this if we’re not getting any results!”

“Are we just gonna wait until You-Know-Who tries to kill another baby to spark another prophecy?”

“No! We just have to keep fighting!”

“I’m tired of fighting. We all are! We’re getting too old for this!”

“Professor,” Hermione’s voice was hopeful. “Have you gotten anything from the school?”

“Yeah, what’s going on with that Scorpion King?”

Albus scowled in dislike at the mention of the Scorpion King, seething against the memories that flooded into his mind. He shook his head to listen back in on the conversation.

“He just graduated,” Snape offered. “I don’t think they’ve brought him into the ranks yet.”

“I’m shocked they haven’t marked him yet considering his bastard father got it at sixteen.”

“I keep saying we should just snatch the little prick and hold him hostage to get into the Ministry! Draco would do anything to get his shit son back!”

“We’re not kidnapping a kid,” Bill said harshly, and Snape spoke up next to him.

“He may be the son of a Deatheater, but the title was given to him without him asking for it. He’s not a threat.”

“Maybe not yet.”

Albus couldn’t help but silently agree. Scorpius Malfoy was most definitely a threat. He couldn’t justify bursting into the room to add his input, though, because as far as the resistance was concerned, the Potter brothers had been safely tucked in their bedrooms for the past few years. They’d all have a fit, or most of them would, if they discovered Albus had been sneaking out since he was thirteen. James did it too, he just veiled his true actions by claiming he was masquerading as a Muggle. Albus just straight up didn’t say anything, letting everyone, including his brother, believe he never left the safe house. Making up a lie was too much trouble in the long run.

“Maybe you should think about sending them out,” Snape suggested. “They’re old enough, and they’ve been studying since they were toddlers. They’re years above other young wizards their age. They’re old enough and skilled enough to join the fight.”

Albus felt a surge of energy, already knowing the man was talking about him and James. Albus couldn’t agree more. He was ready, they both were. They wanted to fight. Fuck, they already were fighting. It would be a lot easier if they could do it without sneaking around and hiding it from the resistance.

“No,” Ron said, “that’s out of the question.”

“Harry would have—"

“Harry’s not here! And he wouldn’t! He would never place his children in the middle of a war to face the same exact things he did!” Albus heard something slam against the table, probably his uncle’s fist. “We swore to him we’d protect Al and James! Harry died for us, we cannot just send his kids…” He trailed off, and the room became silent.

“So you’re just going to keep them locked inside for their own protection? Moving from safe house to safe house when things get too hot?” Snape sounded incredulous. “The Dark Lord will find them eventually, and he’ll kill the boys the same way he killed their parents and grandparents; in some small room surrounded by pictures that are only there to give off the impression that everything is normal. Living in a safe house while people fall around you is one thing, but dying in a safe house without fighting back? I don’t wish that shame on anyone.”

“Harry was protecting his kids—”

“But they aren’t kids anymore. Albus is turning eighteen this year, and James is already nineteen. They’re legally adults. I’m not trying to undermine the fact you’re their guardian, but if you don’t give them your blessing to fight, then they’re going to fight without it.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Think about it. Would Harry Potter sit around doing nothing when a war is going on just because someone told him too?”

Silence answered, and Albus pulled the wand from his ear before crawling away from the door. He rose to his feet, walking the rest of the way to the bedroom he shared with James. He shut the door behind him once he’d cleared it, attempting to give the illusion he’d been there the entire time. Albus then turned to face the room, feeling a cold numbness fill into his fingers.

It was a small room, but they’d been sharing small rooms for years. Albus’ bed was against one wall to his right, while James’ was against the left wall. There was a door near the foot of James’ bed, close to the corner, that led into the bedroom Louis slept in with Lysander and Lorcan Scamander. Occasionally Roxanne joined them, but she had her own room. There were bookshelves and two desks, posters pinned to the walls and dirty laundry piled on chairs. Ron would praise them sometimes, saying it looked like any normal teenagers bedroom. Then Hermione would scold them and tell them to tidy up because they can’t be living in such a mess.

Albus shuffled over to his bed, throwing himself onto it and curling so he was facing the wall. He shifted a pillow away from the wall, where a collection of tallys had been scratched into the paint. Albus reached out to trace them, a frown gracing his lips. He liked to keep track of how long they stayed in one place. Normally they didn’t stay somewhere longer than a year. Sometimes he liked to dream about what it would be like if they had a real home that they could put down roots in.

He tried not to do that too often though. Getting lost in dreams was bad. It would distract Albus from reality and make it more difficult to deal with. This was just how things were, and he had to get used to it. He  _ was  _ used to it. Albus was used to war, and death, blood on his hands and the constant, gutting darkness. He was so used to it in fact that it didn’t seem to bother him anymore. He didn’t even remember crying when Fred died.

Albus recalled when he was much younger, he would have horrific nightmares. He would wake up sobbing and scramble over to James, shaking his older brother awake and asking in a tiny voice if he could stay in the same bed, just for that night. James always said okay, and for several years Albus would sleep in the same bed, because it felt safer.

It must have been some kind of defense mechanism. Willing himself not to feel because if he felt too much, it would be easier to hurt him. Albus didn’t even look at his legitimate family with much care. Louis and Roxanne were the only cousins he had left, but Albus regarded them as acquaintances and avoided bonding with them at all costs. His aunts and uncles were barely shadows existing in his peripheral vision, and the rest of the resistance were strangers.

The only one Albus couldn’t avoid caring about was James, because they’d grown up together. James had always been a constant, always there from the moment Albus was born into this fucked world. The most Albus could do was  _ pretend  _ he didn’t care, but times like now, where James wasn’t home when he should have been, sent Albus into a wreck of nerves and chaotic thoughts. What if he didn’t come home at all? What if he was hurt? What if he sent that text under duress? What if he needed help?

Albus knew how unlikely that was, though. James was a talented wizard and plenty capable of defending himself. Even if he was an idiot, he wouldn’t let himself get captured or killed that easily, especially if he was alone. It was hard to get James to do anything unless he was bribed; or threatened. He was too stubborn otherwise. James would be fine. He’d show up tomorrow no worse for wear, just like always.

There was a sudden boom of thunder, and Albus winced, rolling onto his other side and pulling the pillow with him to cover his head with. Someone knocked lightly on his door before cracking it open, and Albus lifted the pillow to see Ron in the doorway.

“Hey Al, just came to check on you. Heading to sleep?”

“Yes,” Albus said, watching Ron look at James’ bed with a frown.

“Where’d your brother go?”

Albus debated telling the truth before grumbling. “Probably doing something stupid in the rain. He’ll crawl through the window when he knows you’re not looking so you don’t yell at him.”

“Good point,” Ron mumbled, then smiled at Albus. “Well, you know where I’ll be if you need me. Sleep well.”

He flicked off the light when he left, shutting the door with a click behind him. Albus clamped the pillow back over his head as another roll of thunder shook the room. He used to be afraid of it to the point of sobbing, not even James could calm him down, but he’d gotten used to it over the years. There was always thunder after all. Albus had to adapt. He still flinched when he heard it, he didn’t really like loud noises, but he could usually fall asleep and stay asleep if he was particularly lucky — or exhausted.

It was easier when James was in the same room, but for the time being Albus was too stressed out to really sleep. Instead he just laid there, holding a pillow over his head, not even bothering to change into pyjamas. He let his mind wander idly through his memories, not too far as to remember his parents, but far enough to remember his first time meeting The Scorpion King: Scorpius Malfoy.

Albus was thirteen, and they were living in a safe house somewhere in Scotland. It was a smaller cottage, and Albus couldn’t stand being cooped up all the time. The first good day they had — a day when it wasn’t pouring rain — Albus actually managed to convince Ron to let him take a walk. So long as he didn’t wander near any of the houses nearby. Albus chose to follow a path into the trees.

He could still remember how his shoes sank a little into the wet forest floor. The scent of mud and decaying leaves. The sound of wind going through the trees and shaking drops of water off the leaves that were still clinging to the branches. The chill of the air that bit his cheeks until they were red and his freckles were glaring. He could practically taste the moisture in the air as he weaved his way between the trees, eventually finding himself standing at the bank of what appeared to be a massive body of water. It must have been a beautiful lake at one point, but under the dark clouds it looked daunting and depressing.

Albus shuffled down to the edge of the water, watching the waves crawl onto the shore in an attempt to touch his shoes. He stayed just out of reach, but eventually crouched down. He held his hand out, letting the waves lap at his fingers like he was coaxing an animal into trusting him. The water was so cold that it hurt. Albus drew his hand back, instead picking up random rocks and pebbles. He washed them off in the water before lifting them up. It wasn’t like he was looking for anything specific, just passing the time and busying himself. He found a small red stone he thought James might like and tucked it into his hoodie pocket, but otherwise he dropped the pebbles back where he’d taken them from.

In the recesses of his mind he was certain he’d acknowledged the footsteps, but he was too focused on watching a tiny little hermit crab as it struggled to climb over one of the small stones Albus had placed back in the sand.

“You shouldn’t be here,” a sudden voice said. There was a gravely, warning tone to the words, but Albus lifted his head slowly to look down the shore.

A boy his age stood there, dressed in neatly pressed black clothes accented with sharp emerald green down the chest. There was a heavy black cloak around his shoulders. His skin was pale, and his hair was platinum with a noticeable tinge of silver streaking through it. His eyes appeared dark from the distance he stood. Albus couldn’t tell if they were brown or black. There was a tight frown on the boy's lips, and something glinting in his dark eyes that wasn’t exactly friendly. Albus couldn’t put a pin in the expression at all, and he’d certainly never met the boy before.

“What, do you own the lake?” Albus quipped, and the boy looked momentarily shocked.

His face evened back out and he started to step forward. “You don’t know who I am, do you?”

“You don’t know who I am either. You’re not so special.” Albus turned back to watch the hermit crab. “Bug off. I’m busy.”

“I’m being thoughtful here. You’re lucky I’m the one who came down here.” Albus just ignored the boy as he reached down to turn the hermit crab over when he’d fallen onto his back, little legs flailing. “Hey! If it had been my aunt you’d be dead!”

“Why not go hang out with her then?” Albus mumbled sarcastically.

“I guess a  _ Muggle  _ wouldn’t understand,” the boy stated in a sneering voice.

Albus furrowed his brow before looking back up at him. “Muggle,” he repeated the word under his breath. So this kid was a wizard too? Ron always said to avoid other wizards in case they might be able to recognize him.

Albus got to his feet and went to step away, deciding he didn’t want to get in any trouble. He didn’t yet understand how to work the obliviation spell, so if they got into a fight Albus wouldn’t be able to alter the boy’s memory into forgetting they met.

“Where are you going,  _ Muggle?” _ The way the boy said that word, it was filled with so much resentment.

“I’m not a Muggle,” Albus defended himself without thinking, bristling in dislike and facing the other boy. “Stop calling me names, you don’t even know me.”

“Aw, did I hurt your feelings?” The boy cooed, slowly reaching into his cloak. “Here, let me make it up to you, Mister Muggle.”

Albus caught sight of the wand just in time to duck out of the way of the stunning spell. The blonde boy looked infuriated at the fact Albus seemed to have predicted and avoided the attack. Then something seemed to click in his eyes and his mouth opened. He held the wand at his side as he stepped closer.

“I know you,” he said in shock, his eyes wide. “I know your face.”

“No you don’t. You don’t know me.”

“Yeah I do!”

“It’s just a face!”

“You look like Harry Potter!” The boy pointed an accusatory finger into Albus’ face. “You do! I’ve seen pictures! You have his face!” He seemed to be frantic, maybe excited. “You’re his kid, aren’t you?! Merlin’s pants, I found Harry Potter’s kid!”

“I don’t know who that is!” Albus argued. “I’m a Muggle!”

“How do you know what that word means, huh? How’d you know to dodge my attack?!”

“I don’t know! I’m a Muggle!”

Albus cringed as the boy grabbed onto the front of his hoodie, dragging him closer. “You’re coming with me back to the school. Professor Umbridge can take you to the Dark Lord, and then maybe he’ll tell us the cure for —” he stopped, his cheeks flushing, and he stuck the end of his wand against Albus’ throat. “You didn’t hear  _ any  _ of that! Understand?!”

“Fuck off!” Albus snarled. “I’m not who you think I am! I — I don’t know about any of this!”

“Stop fighting me!” The boy shook Albus, pressing the wand harder against his throat. “I have to do this! Just quit whining about it!”

Albus felt a surge of panic when he realized that the boy in front of him was being completely serious. He struggled away, reaching into his hoodie to yank out his own wand, shooting a spell at the other boy.

Of course he managed to redirect it into the dirt, his dark eyes glimmering in malice. “I knew it!” He said triumphantly as Albus slowly backed up to put distance between them. “I knew you were a wizard!” He started forward slowly, creeping towards Albus. “It’s really a shame. I’ve been learning from Hogwarts. Where did you go to school? Oh, nowhere. Our skills are different, and I’m most definitely stronger than you, so to avoid any unnecessary pain, you might as well drop the wand and come quietly.”

Albus struggled to breathe around his panic, thinking of James and the others still at the safe house. He shook his head sharply. “I’m not going.”

“Fine, we’ll do it the hard way.”

He started forward, lifting his wand, but they both froze when they heard a crunching, cracking sound. The blonde looked down, eyes wide, lifting his boot and taking a step back. Crushed into the rocks was the little hermit crab Albus had been playing with. Albus gasped in shock, his stomach doing flips and a hand lifting to his mouth to keep from throwing up.

“You squashed it.” He gaped at the boy. “How could you do that?!”

“I —”

“You’re a psychopath! You’re fucking crazy!” Albus lifted his wand and yelled a stunning spell, managing to hit the boy in the chest before spinning on his heel and sprinting into the trees, not bothering to wait and see if the other wizard fell.

When he returned to the cottage he’d been too anxious to explain what had happened, but Albus always got the feeling Ron already knew. They moved a few days after that incident. After Ron and Hermione decided they were too close to Hogwarts. Initially they’d chosen that safe house because  _ ‘they’d never look in Scotland, we’ll be hiding in plain sight’. _ When they moved next, they went to Wales.

Albus never told anyone about what happened that day at the lake. Years passed before he learned that boy’s identity. It was Snape who revealed it: Scorpius Malfoy, the Scorpion King. When he showed them a photo, Albus felt his stomach wrench into knots, hands clenching at his sides as anger went through him. Of  _ course  _ he was a Malfoy.

For some reason, after their initial meeting, they kept running into each other. It seemed like whenever Albus went out, Scorpius was waiting for him. It didn’t matter if school was in session or if it was summer break. He probably snuck out of school for the sole purpose of hunting Albus down and fighting him. Albus wouldn’t put it past it.

“Stop stalking me, freak!” Albus had yelled during one of their unusually frequent run ins, wand brandished and a hex on the tip of his tongue.

Scorpius just smirked from where he stood, his own wand in hand. “I’m not. You’re just predictable and easy to find.”

“Then why haven’t you and your stupid genocidle friends found our hideout yet, huh?”

Their accidental meetups always ended in a fight. At the same time, Albus never got hurt, and he never hurt Scorpius. It was more like they spent a few minutes shooting spells at each other until they got tired, calling it good and going home.

_ “Nice spar. Same time next week.” _

It was the same thing every time they saw each other. Albus would feel a surge of anger, and they’d immediately start in on each other. Hexes, curses, charms, spells. Occasionally Albus would have a few of George’s old pranks in pocket to help give him an edge. It didn’t take long for Scorpius to get used to the Instant Darkness Powder and other random tricks Albus would throw at him. After a few years of always fighting, they’d essentially memorized how the other sparred. It was more like a practiced dance whenever they bumped into each other now.

It pissed Albus off.

Ron used to tell stories about Draco Malfoy and the rivalry they had with him. It almost felt fitting that Albus would end up Scorpius Malfoy’s rival. Not that he wanted to admit that to his uncle. It was no one’s business but his own. Albus could handle the Scorpion King. He wasn’t so tough. He was just an asshole who killed tiny animals. Like the little hermit crab he crushed on their first meeting.

_ Merlin  _ Albus hated him.

He lay awake the entire night thinking about Scorpius. Scowling under the pillow. He didn’t know what time it was when he heard a crack, then a grunt as someone fell. James was the only one who would apparate into the safe house like that, so Albus pulled the pillow away and sat up. He had to lean over and turn on the lamp sitting on the dresser beside his bed, looking over at where James was sitting on the ground.

His face was pale and he was holding his right shoulder, teeth grit and glaring at the floor. His eyes were glassy, he looked like he was in pain and close to tears.

“What did you do this time?” Albus asked simply.

James flinched at the voice and tossed his wand carelessly to the side. “I don’t know what you mean. I just got stuck outside, like I said in my text.”

Albus paused, waiting for James to chastise him for not answering the text. When he didn’t, Albus furrowed his brow and scooted to the foot of his bed. “What’s wrong with your arm?”

James pouted at the question, holding his right hand up and wincing. “Nothing. I bumped it.”

“You bumped it,” Albus repeated, standing up.

“It’s not a big deal Al,” James mumbled, getting to his feet. His arm stayed hanging limply at his side, his fingers digging into his upper arm and his eyes stuck on the floor. “I’m gonna take a shower.”

Albus took a few steps forward when James turned, grabbing his right wrist. James crumpled with a yelp, and Albus grabbed the shoulder of his shirt, tugging it down to reveal a nasty black and blue bruise at his brother’s shoulder.

“Bloody hell, James, it’s dislocated!” Albus snapped, moving his hand to James’ back but keeping a hold of his wrist. “You bumped it and it dislocated?”

“Well maybe I fell on it!” James shrilled, looking embarrassed and pissed off at the same time. “Leave me be, I can fix it myself!”

“Yeah, right!” Albus yanked the bedroom door open, forcing James to walk down the hall. “Uncle! James is stupid!”

There was a thud before Ron popped into the hallway from the kitchen, holding a spatula and looking confused. “What? What happened?”

“His shoulder is dislocated,” Albus explained, and James groaned in annoyance.

“I’m fucking fine. It was just an accident.”

“Merlin’s sake, James.” Ron put a hand on James’ back and led him closer. “I’ll fix it. This isn’t my first dislocated shoulder.”

“I don’t need your help, it doesn’t even hurt.” James continued to argue, looking flustered and uncomfortable.

“We can’t leave it like this, James. It could get infected.”

“But I’m fine!” James insisted, looking up when Bill and Hermione came into view. “I said I’m fine!”

“He’ll need a sling,” Ron told them as Albus backed up so the older man could take his place, one hand on James’ shoulder and the other on his elbow. “Probably a potion for the pain and swelling as well.”

He twisted James’ arm without warning, and Albus cringed at the audible pop his brother’s shoulder gave when it was forced back into place. James gave another cry of pain, and Ron released his arm so he could cradle it to his chest. Albus stepped forward to keep James from dropping, holding him up by his left arm until Bill returned with a sling.

“Here we go.” He secured the strap around James’ neck, helping him move his arm so it was cradled securely by the sling. “It’s gonna hurt for a while.”

“What on earth happened?” Hermione demanded, holding a potion out for James to take.

“I just fell.” James bristled and snatched the vial from Hermione. “It’s not that big a deal! People fall, it happens! It was raining last night, and it was slippery!”

“You should’ve told us sooner,” Ron chided.

Albus squeezed his brother’s arm. “Yeah, James. You should’ve said something sooner.”

James mumbled something inaudible, uncorking the vial of medicine and downing it before returning the empty container to Hermione. “Can I take a shower, now?”

“Be sure to put a spell over the sling to keep it dry,” Ron ordered. “Do you remember how to do that?”

James rolled his eyes, tilting his head back with a sigh. “Yeah, uncle, I’m not stupid.”

“That’s debatable,” Albus announced, and James yanked his arm away.

“I’m taking a shower now.”

“Don’t take too long, I’m making omelettes!” Ron called as James stomped back down the hall towards the bathroom. He looked at Albus. “You want an omelette?”

Albus shrugged. “Sure.”

James didn’t bother joining them for breakfast. He was lying down on his bed when Albus walked into their bedroom, dressed in clean clothes and staring at the ceiling with a strange expression on his face. His arm was still in a sling, and he was holding his elbow with his left hand.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Albus asked, shutting the door with his foot.

James rolled onto his side so his back was to Albus, not answering. He’d already been acting out of character, but now Albus was starting to genuinely worry something was wrong. Aside from the dislocated shoulder. Albus was feeling more on edge the longer James didn’t respond. He was growing more and more tense, fingers twitching at his sides. Eventually he grabbed a book that had been sitting on the foot of his bed, lifting it in preparation to throw it at his brother.

The door between their room and the next opened suddenly, interrupting his attack, and he turned his head to see who’d come in. “I heard James got hurt,” Louis said, looking into the room in time to see James grab a pillow and clamp it over his head. “Ah, I see.”

“He says he fell,” Albus said, lowering the book. “He’s being a prick about it.”

“Oh come on, Al, you know how James gets,” Louis sympathized, folding his arms and leaning against the doorframe. “He’s all sore when something silly happens he thinks he should’ve been able to control.”

“Can you two leave me alone?!” James snapped suddenly, sitting up in bed. “I’m bloody tired!”

“Well you wouldn’t be so tired if you’d come home last night,” Albus snapped, throwing the book at James like he’d been planning to do in the first place.

James lifted a hand and swatted the book out of the air, snarling. “I told you, I got caught up! The weather was really bad last night! I couldn’t get back!”

“Yeah right!” Albus snapped back.

“Just leave me alone! I’m fucking tired! Can’t you just go do something else?!”

“What is your problem?!” Albus demanded.

Louis stepped further into the room. “Stop arguing. Al, you can just come hang out with me. James is in one of his moods.”

“No fucking kidding,” Albus snarled, storming past Louis into the other room.

There was a bunk bed against the far wall, and a single twin sized bed directly to the right. Parallel to where James’ bed was set up. Between them was a rather large desk covered in carving supplies, bottles of herbs, and other unusual items. Wand making supplies. The resistance couldn’t exactly buy wands from Ollivanders, so Louis carved most of them. He’d even carved Albus’ wand.

Lorcan Scamander was sitting on the top bunk, leaning forward and flipping through a book. He lifted his head when Albus entered the room, a small frown on his face. His older brother Lysander was lying stretched out on the bottom bunk, his arms folded behind his head, turning his head when Louis shut the door.

“I just wanted to see how he was feeling,” Louis said apologetically as Albus shuffled over to the rolling chair in front of the desk.

“Whatever.” He sat backwards in the chair, folding his arms over the back of it and leaning his chin on his forearms. “He’s just being an ass.”

“He looks really upset, though,” Louis argued.

“When are any of us not upset?” Albus mumbled, spinning the chair to face away from Louis and looking down at the desk. “What are you working on?”

“What I’m always working on,” Louis laughed, sitting on the edge of the twin bed to Albus’ right. “How’s your wand doing, on that note?”

Albus searched in his hoodie, pulling his wand out and tossing it to Louis so his cousin could inspect it.

“So what happened to James?” Lysander asked.

Albus didn’t look at him as he answered. “Hurt his stupid shoulder somehow. Says he fell.”

“You don’t believe him?”

Albus didn’t respond at first. He reached out to pick up a dried flower that was sitting on Louis’ desk. Probably an ingredient for his work. It was small with little silver petals, and it gave off a distinct aroma of cinnamon. Truthfully he didn’t know how to answer the question. No, he didn’t believe James. In fact Albus was willing to bet the entire reason James wasn’t home the night before was because he got into a fight with some Deatheater. That was more likely than James slipping in the rain and landing on his shoulder wrong.

Honestly, did he really expect Albus to believe that bullshit excuse? What an idiot. Albus already knew he was an idiot, though, so he really shouldn’t have been surprised.

“He shouldn’t be so reckless,” Louis said, handing the wand back to Albus. “Especially now.”

“Yeah, who’s gonna tell  _ him  _ that?” Lysander snorted, sitting up and pulling the glasses from his face, cleaning them on the edge of his shirt. “He won’t listen.”

Albus dropped the flower, folding his arm over the back of the chair, letting his wand hang loosely from his fingers. “Yeah. He won’t.”

Albus spent most of the day in the room with Louis and the Scamander twins. He decided to return to his own bedroom around noon, shutting the door between their rooms quietly and turning to James’ bed. It appeared as if he’d tucked himself beneath the covers, hiding from everything.

Albus sighed as he shuffled up to the side of James’ bed. “Hey, sorry I threw a book at you. It’s just really unlike you to not come home at night, even if the weather is a little shitty. So what happened? Did you really fall and hurt yourself, because I don’t believe for a second it’s that simple.”

He waited for a response. For James to explain himself, or curse him at the very least, maybe cast a silencing charm or hop out of bed asking Albus to fuck off. There was no reply from the lump on the mattress, and Albus furrowed his brow, his lips twisting into a frown.

“Look you can’t just ignore me. Just… talk to me or something! Hey! I was… I was fucking worried, okay?!” Again, nothing, and Albus snarled, stepping closer. “James!”

He ripped the covers back, freezing when he saw the pillows stuffed under the sheets. Giving the illusion that James was in bed when he really wasn’t. Albus tensed up, looking around the room as if James would pop out of the closet to scare him. It definitely wasn’t like James to do this, sneak out and pretend he was still home. Albus didn’t know what he was doing, but he really didn’t like it.

He let a curse slip from his lips as he pulled his wand out, making sure both doors were locked before flinging the sheets over James’ bed. He went over and cast an illusion charm over his own bed, then turned and flicked his wand.

_ “Appare vistigium.” _

A golden glow fell over James’ bed, revealing a ghostly illusion of his brother. Albus watched tensely as the image of James quickly got up from the bed, grabbing a jacket from the floor and yanking it on before striding over to the window.

So he left through the window. That meant he must be close, right?

Albus followed, shutting the window quietly before turning to follow the glowing footsteps that lead out of the yard. Maybe it was stupid to follow James, Albus never had before, but something about the way James was acting really bugged him. He needed to know where the idiot was going, just this once. Just to make sure he wasn’t putting himself in unnecessary danger, especially after dislocating his shoulder.

_ Merlin  _ why was he so fucking  _ stupid? _

Albus had to spell away the tracking charm once he reached town, hiding his wand and pulling the hood onto his head, dragging it over his eyes and shoving his hands into his pockets. He was lucky in the end, finding James a few short blocks away from where he entered town. He was standing at a food truck, accepting a cup of something hot from the barista. Coffee or cocoa, maybe tea. James looked as bad as he had before, with bags under his eyes and a heavy frown on his lips.

Albus followed him to a park, where he sat down on a bench and pulled his feet up, keeping his arm tucked against his stomach, holding his cup with his good hand. James simply sat there, staring ahead with a blank, completely empty look on his face. His lack of action was about as disturbing as if he’d been doing something suspicious. Albus had never seen James look so defeated before in his life.

A normal person would probably approach quietly and try to figure out what was wrong. Sit down next to James and insist he talk it out. That’s what brothers were supposed to do, wasn’t it? Talk to each other about things that bothered them? Albus didn’t know. He’d never been in the position where he had to do that before.

Still, he didn’t like the way James was acting. It made him uncomfortable. So Albus started to step out from behind the tree he’d hidden himself. He froze before he could get close, his eyes snapping to the side when he caught movement outside the park. When he turned to look, he immediately recognized him. The little prick with blonde hair, dressed in all black.

He was walking down the sidewalk like he had an agenda, frequently looking over his shoulder. Albus felt immediate panic, looking towards James. He couldn’t let Scorpius see them together. Till now Albus had been able to hide the fact he had a brother, or family at all. If Scorpius knew, he’d probably just use James against Albus. He wouldn’t put it past the fucker.

Albus hunched his shoulders, sneaking away from James and slipping out of the park. He kept his head down and his eyes up as he followed behind Scorpius. The weather was bleak, Albus swore he could hear a low rumble from thunder off in the distance. He was almost expecting it to start raining again.

Scorpius was moving erratically. When they approached a group of Muggles coming down the sidewalk, Albus reached for his wand. He half expected Scorpius to hex them for fun, taken aback when the other wizard merely stepped to the side to give them a clear path to walk. He seemed to be going out of his way to avoid people entirely. Something about his stance made Albus narrow his eyes.

It was like everyone was in a bad mood today. What was their deal?

At the very least Albus expected Scorpius to lead him to some kind of secret Deatheater meetup. Instead Albus found himself following the moron into a crowd of Muggles in the heart of London. What the hell was he doing?

At one point Scorpius stopped at a crosswalk, swaying casually on his feet as he waited for the light to change. They were stuck in a group of people, Albus was a few Muggles away from Scorpius, keeping his head down so Scorpius wouldn’t notice him.

He felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, but he didn’t see anything immediately suspicious when he glanced around. At the last second he noticed a trio of people standing at the back of the crowd, dressed in dark clothes and hoods over their eyes. Albus felt something cold building in the pit of his stomach as he turned to face the front, reaching up to tug his hood lower.

Something was up, and Albus got the feeling Scorpius was at the center of it.

He crept forward when the light turned green, keeping his head low as he weaved between the Muggles to get closer to Scorpius. His hand snuck out when they were halfway through the crosswalk, grabbing Scorpius by the arm. Scorpius tensed up, and while they kept walking, the other wizard was quick to jab something into Albus’ side. When he spoke, his voice was low and dangerous, but held a shake to it that Albus hadn’t heard before.

“If you don’t let go immediately I will shove this into your liver so deep you die in seconds.”

Albus looked down to see the low light glint against the edge of a long blade, wincing even though it didn’t hurt. “Relax, it’s me.”

Scorpius tensed more, pulling the knife away. “What the fuck —”

“Sh! You’re being followed.”

“Yeah, by you! And you call  _ me  _ a bloody stalker.”

“Just chill. Move to the right when we get to the other side of the road, then duck into the closest alley.”

Scorpius was silent for a moment before whispering. “Why are you helping me?”

“Figure I could get something out of it,” Albus answered immediately, dragging Scorpius into the alley when they reached it. “This way.”

“Have you been here before?” Scorpius asked as Albus dragged him.

“I’m not answering that. In here.” Albus released Scorpius and jumped through an open window into an abandoned building.

Scorpius stopped just outside it, bristling and making a face. “If you think for one second I’m going to go into that dirty, dusty, cobwebbed —”

“Where’d he go?” A female voice interrupted from down the alley, and Scorpius went dangerously pale.

He scrambled through the open window, falling onto his face beside Albus. Albus flicked his wand to cast a simple illusion charm to hide the window. He ducked down, leaning with his back against the wall.

Footsteps shuffled down the alley, followed by curses. “I can’t believe this. He just disappeared!”

“Idiot, he probably just ran the minute we couldn’t see him.”

“How’d he know we were following him?”

“Maybe because  _ someone  _ was being too fucking loud, did you ever think of that?”

The footsteps and voices faded away, and Albus lifted up to look out the window. “They’re gone,” he said.

It hit him suddenly that he’d just helped the  _ Scorpion King, _ and his face went hot in shame. He was quickly distracted from his thoughts when he looked at Scorpius. The other wizard was sitting hunched on the floor, his knees hugged to his chest and his face hidden against his lifted knees. Albus was stuck kneeling by the window, awkwardly watching the boy in front of him. He reached up to scratch his neck, clearing his throat.

“So who were those guys?” Albus asked, and Scorpius flinched.

He slowly uncurled, shifting around and standing up. “They were no one.”

“Yeah, I believe that,” Albus scoffed as he rose to his feet. “Look, I helped you, now you owe me.”

“I don’t owe you crap,” Scorpius snarled. He passed Albus, climbing out of the window back into the alley. “Leave me alone.”

Albus stumbled after him, scowling. “Tell me or I’ll call them back, how about that?”

Scorpius stopped walking, his backing tensing up and his hands curling into fists at his sides.

Albus almost felt bad, but if this was the way he was going to finally get some information, then fine. “You owe me.”

Scorpius turned to glare at him. His eyes were dark, and familiar bags were layered beneath them. He looked feral as he bared his teeth. “I owe you  _ nothing.” _

Albus narrowed his eyes, lifting his wand. “Then I guess I’ll have to hex the answer out of you.”

Scorpius just turned away, starting down the alley. Albus gaped after him, shoving his wand into his pocket and running after the other wizard.

“Hey! What’s your problem?! Don’t ignore me!”

“Leave me alone,” Scorpius snapped back at him, freezing when he got to the sidewalk.

Albus caught sight of the same trio of people down the block, squaring his shoulders. “They don’t give up,” he grumbled, reaching out to grab Scorpius by the wrist. “This way. I think I know how to lose them.”

Scorpius tugged at Albus’ grip, but didn’t try hard to escape, following behind him at a steady pace. “This doesn’t change anything. I’m not telling you shit.”

“Whatever you want, fucker. This way.”

“Where are you dragging me?”

“Hope you’re not afraid of heights.” Albus held his wand discreetly in his hand as he reached a line of people, pulling Scorpius into an alley and yanking him closer. “Don’t move if you don’t wanna get splinched,” Albus warned, wrapping an arm around Scorpius and holding him tight before disapparating.

When his vision cleared, he found himself and Scorpius standing alone in one of the pods rotating on the London Eye. Albus would never admit it, but he came here a lot. A few times he’d almost screwed up the apparition and landed himself outside one of the pods, but he’d perfected it by now.

Scorpius pushed himself out of Albus’ arms when they were standing firmly, stepping up to the window and looking down at the street below.

“They probably won’t find us up here,” Albus said, hands on his hips. “It takes about thirty minutes to make a rotation, so get comfortable.”

He watched Scorpius closely where he was standing, hands hanging loosely at his sides as he stared out the window. Albus dropped into one of the seats, leaning back and folding his arms. He waited for a few minutes for Scorpius to sit down, but when he didn’t, Albus decided to speak up again.

“Getting tired of standing, Poshmark?”

Scorpius turned to cast him a blank look. “What?”

“It’s a store in America with the word posh in it. I’m making fun of you.”

“Oh.” Scorpius turned away and Albus sighed.

“Just sit down, you’re pissing me off.”

“How do you think I feel?” Scorpius demanded, turning to glare at Albus. “I just got dragged the length of London by my enemy.”

“Yeah and you  _ let  _ me drag you,” Albus snapped. Scorpius flinched as if he’d forgotten that part, and Albus sighed, stretching his legs out. “Just sit down. Everyone’s in a dick mood today, I don’t know what their deal is.”

Scorpius sat down across from Albus, arms folded and hunched over. His body language revealed that he wasn’t in a good mood and didn’t feel comfortable; or safe. Not that Albus could do anything about that. Still, they were going to be there for a while.

“You wanna spar?” Albus asked, and Scorpius lifted his head to gape at him. Albus shrugged. “Just asking.”

“No, I don’t want to spar,” Scorpius snapped, turning on the seat and pulling his feet up, leaning against the glass and curling into a ball.

“What do you wanna do then?”

“We literally  _ don’t  _ need to talk,” Scorpius said. “We can just sit in complete silence until this thing is down.”

_ “Jesus  _ you’re an unfriendly prick.” Albus paused when his stomach grumbled. “Do you have any food on you by any chance?”

“And you keep talking,” Scorpius growled. Though he did reach into his coat, searching around and pulling out a few pieces of wrapped candy. “Here. Eat this.”

“Is it poisoned?” Albus asked, and Scorpius shot him a glare. “Fine, fine.”

He got up and walked across the little pod, taking the candy from Scorpius. He took a seat in front of the other teen, just to piss him off. He purposely waited for Scorpius to bristle before unwrapping a sherbert lemon to pop into his mouth.

“Thanks, your royal bitchiness.”

Scorpius snarled and jerked his head to the side, glaring out the glass. They sat in calming silence for a while. When Albus looked back at Scorpius, he’d relaxed somewhat. His shoulders weren’t as tense, and he wasn’t glaring anymore. He looked tired, and at the distance Albus sat, he could see blotches of discoloration on the other wizard’s face. It looked like bruising, but Albus couldn’t tell if he’d been hit or hexed. Or something else.

Albus didn’t appreciate the surge of pain that welled up in him. The uncomfortable sensation of protectiveness he felt. For this crabby, stuck up, no good Deatheater spawn. Why, because he had a couple of bruises? He probably got them beating up Muggles or Half-bloods or something. The last thing he deserved was Albus’ empathy.

“Give me one of the Pepper Imps,” Scorpius said suddenly, and Albus turned to look at him before looking down at the candy in his hand.

“You like those?” He asked, holding the candy out.

Scorpius took a piece of his desired sweet before turning away. “Why? Is there a problem?”

“I just expected your choice of candy to be, I don’t know, Acid Pops. Or Blood Pops.”

“That’s really how you see me, is it?” Scorpius questioned, and Albus hummed.

“You expect me to see you any other way?”

Scorpius popped the candy into his mouth, and steam blew out from his ears as he pinched his eyes closed. Albus doubled over, laughing uncontrollably. Half of him was mad that he found it funny, but the fool looked so ridiculous, he couldn’t  _ not  _ laugh. Scorpius was laughing too, softly, hiding the smile behind his hands. Maybe that was why he liked that candy; because it made him smile.

Albus leaned his head back against the glass, staring up at the cloudy sky. “Do you ever wonder what it’s like?” He asked suddenly, not even realizing he’d spoken out loud until Scorpius answered.

“What are you referring to?”

“The sky,” Albus clarified, waving his hand up. “My uncle, he says it used to be blue, but I don’t really buy it. My whole life it’s been this way. Bleak, gray, dark. A blue sky… I wonder what it’s like.” He folded his arm over his stomach, keeping his eyes on the clouds. “I’ve never felt the sun, either. I don’t think I’ve seen a single sunny day in the past seventeen years I’ve been alive.”

“Just go above the clouds,” Scorpius said, and Albus blinked.

He turned his head to look at Scorpius. “What?”

“The clouds. Just fly above them. Haven’t you ever been on a broom?”

Albus flushed, bristling. “No, and I’ll give you three guesses as to why.”

Scorpius blushed in embarrassment, looking away. “Right. My bad.”

Albus laid his head against the glass again, sighing. “Whatever. I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

“You know I’m not as much of a bastard as you like to think I am,” Scorpius snapped, and Albus snorted.

“I’m sure you’re just a misunderstood nice guy, right?”

“That’s not what I meant,” Scorpius bit out in response. His shoulders sagged as if in defeat, and he glared down for a moment before looking at Albus. “I’ll show you.”

“Show me you’re not a bad guy?”

“No. You’re fucking annoying. To pay you back for getting me out of that situation. I’ll show you the sky.”

Albus felt anxious at that, sitting forward and staring warily at Scorpius. “What do you mean by that?”

“If you can manage to stay on a broom long enough, I’ll take you over the clouds so you can see what a blue sky looks like.”

Albus felt well and truly embarrassed then, his hands in fists as he stared at the blonde. Scorpius was keeping his head down, refusing to meet Albus’ eye. “Why would you do that?”

“As a thank you. I don’t like owing people things, and you got me out of that situation. Stop making me repeat myself!”

“How do I know this isn’t a trick?” Albus narrowed his eyes, and Scorpius scowled at him.

“You don’t. Just accept the offer now or we can go our separate ways when we reach the ground.”

Albus looked at the clouds, pressing his lips together and swallowing the lump of anxiety in his throat. He knew he should say no. He knew he should leave Scorpius the moment they got to the ground, but… he wanted to see it. He wanted to see a blue sky at least once.

“Okay,” Albus decided, and Scorpius’ expression softened to a look of surprise. “Show me a blue sky.”

* * *

It took a lot of sneaking around and disapparating before they stopped. There was an old shed tucked beneath a tree that Scorpius went up to without hesitation. Albus wanted to make a quip about seeing someone as prissy as Scorpius willingly entering a broken down, disgusting shed, but decided against it. Scorpius came back out with two brooms, handing one to Albus and leading him into the field nearby.

“Do you come here often?” Albus asked, looking around curiously.

“Sometimes I need to get away, be alone.” Scorpius mounted his broom, staring at the clouds. “You’re not the only one who wishes the sky was still blue.” He looked at Albus. “Now hurry up. The sun is going to set soon, so I don’t have the time to teach you how to fly. Just get on and I’ll make sure you don’t fall or something.”

“Thanks so much,” Albus grumbled.

He mounted the broom, and Scorpius pointed. “Hold there. Just push off from the ground. I always heard your father was a natural flier, so if you’re lucky that talent may have passed to you.”

Albus frowned as he clung to the shaft of the broomstick, staring down. “I wouldn’t know. People don’t talk about my father much.”

Scorpius was quiet for a moment before speaking. “I heard this story about his first flying lesson at Hogwarts. I don’t know if it’s true. Your father flew so well that he made the house Quidditch team in his first year. That’s unheard of, and hasn’t happened again since.” Another pause before he kicked off the ground, hovering in the air. “It’s in your blood. Just do what’s natural.”

Albus continued to stare down, memorizing the grain of the wood beneath his hands. When he kicked off the ground he hesitated, his heart pounding as he propped his feet against the broom stand.

“Don’t stare at the ground, it’ll just make you more anxious,” Scorpius tutored, and Albus snarled up at him.

“Fuck off!”

“Just listen, don’t be a child!”

Albus bristled, and somehow focusing on how annoyed he was made it easier to hover. When he started rising higher into the air, his confidence began to grow, and he gaped up at where Scorpius was a few feet above him. He was grinning, a strange light in his eyes.

“There you go! Think you can catch me?”

“Don’t underestimate me, Malfoy,” Albus snapped, flying up to Scorpius’ level. “Are we going, or what?”

Scorpius laughed, and Albus felt a strange burst of excitement and adrenaline as they started to fly higher. The emotion going through him was truly indescribable. The cold wind ripped through his hair as he gained speed, clinging to the broom and leaning forward, wanting to go even faster. He’d never felt this happy in his entire life, and he wanted more of it. More of the adrenaline, more of the excitement, more of whatever this feeling was that was rushing through him.

When he looked down, he didn’t even feel frightened. He felt exhilarated. Albus gripped the broomstick, spinning and turning to swoop down. Scorpius paused in his ascent to watch with wide eyes.

“Albus!” He yelled down to him, but Albus could only laugh.

He corkscrewed through the air, making a sudden sharp turn and shooting back up, darting past Scorpius at the speed of sound and laughing the entire way up.

When they reached the clouds, Albus was hit with a burst of cold. His fingers felt like they were freezing. He grit his teeth against the chill, water drops catching on his eyelashes and his hair dampening from the water in the clouds. It was getting difficult to fly up, a little hard to breathe, but Albus didn’t stop. He couldn’t see Scorpius, but he couldn’t worry about him just then. He focused on the clouds above, the gray and black, and the silver lining.

He had to see it. He had to see the sky. Just once, just for a moment. Even just an instant.

Albus pinched his eyes closed against the threat of tears, breaking through the clouds with a gasp. He struggled to straighten out on his broom, hovering and hunched over as he gasped for breath.

“Give it a minute,” he heard Scorpius say after a moment. “Here, this’ll help.”

Albus felt Scorpius tap him on the head with his wand, uttering a charm. Albus breathed in sharply, oxygen flowing into his lungs. Relief filtered through him, followed quickly by a gentle wave of calm.

“Better?”

“You must come up here a lot,” Albus sighed.

“Yeah, but I’m not the one who created that spell. My… my friend did.”

“Didn’t know someone like you could have friends,” Albus hummed, and Scorpius scoffed.

“I’m gonna forget you said that,” he said. He nudged Albus’ shoulder. “Look up.”

Albus lifted his head, and the moment he did, the charm Scorpius cast on him seemed to stop working. He was breathless as he stared up into the fathomless blue. It seemed to go on forever, like the ocean was suddenly above him. A deep azure streaked with red, orange, and deep violet.

“Whoa,” Albus breathed the word, his eyes wide. He wanted to make them as wide as he could so he could capture as much of this view as he possibly could. “This is it?” He asked. “This is the sky?”

“This is the sky,” Scorpius confirmed.

Albus turned his head. It was a struggle to tear his eyes from the sky, but he wanted to see. Scorpius was hovering beside him, his head tilted so he could stare up. The sun, yellow and gold, glowed just behind him, casting a glow around him that looked like a halo. His hair was like white gold, shimmering and streaked with platinum. With the light shining on him, his dark eyes suddenly appeared brighter. Rather than being black, Albus realized his eyes were in fact a deep coffee brown, the edges of which were even lighter, like amber.

Scorpius Malfoy was beautiful.

Albus bristled when Scorpius dropped his eyes from the sky to look at Albus, frowning. “What?”

“You look stupid!” Albus blurted, and Scorpius scowled at him.

“I brought you up here to admire the bloody sky, not make fun of me.”

“I got side tracked.”

“The sun’s about to set,” Scorpius snapped, looking to the side. “Do you want to go now?”

“No, not yet,” Albus said, maybe a little too quickly, looking back up at the sky. “I don’t want to leave yet.” Scorpius didn’t answer, so Albus looked at him. The expression on his face was strange. His eyes looked glassy, lips parted, staring at Albus like he’d never seen him before. “What?” Albus snapped, and Scorpius bristled, his face going beet red.

“Nothing! You look stupid!”

“Oh so I can’t make fun of you but you can make fun of me?”

“Yeah! Exactly!” Scorpius jerked his head away. “Just look at the fucking sky already!”

They hovered in general silence after that, until the sun had disappeared beneath the clouds and the sky grew black. Albus felt mildly uneasy at the darkness, unconsciously floating closer towards Scorpius. Then his eyes caught the moon shining so bright that Albus could still see Scorpius beside him.

They were suddenly hovering in an endless black, but above them was a brilliant moon that shone a bright, blinding silver. Stars dotted around it. More and more seemed to blink into existence the longer Albus sat there, and his breath caught in his throat. It was almost more beautiful than the blue sky had been.

“I… it’s so beautiful,” Albus said breathlessly.

“It is, isn’t it?”

“I can’t believe this kind of thing has been hiding above the clouds this entire time. It doesn’t seem fair.”

“What do you mean?”

“Why can’t we see this everyday? Without having to fly? I’ve never seen this before. My cousins have never seen this. My brother hasn’t seen this. Ever. But it’s so beautiful, and it’s not fair. I want to see this every day. Every night. The blue sky, the sun, the stars, the moon. This light, and the feeling that comes with it. I’ve never felt this way before. There are so many stars.”

There was a moment of drawn out silence, and Albus nearly jumped when Scorpius finally spoke. “I guess you’ve never seen constellations either, then,” he noted, and Albus looked at him in time to see him pointing. “Here, I’ll show you one. If you start from that star there, then follow this line,” he drew his finger up like he was tracing the constellation, and Albus leaned closer to him to see where he was pointing. “Then you follow up there, and there, into the claws. See?”

“Yeah,” Albus said. “It’s a crab.”

“What? No!” Scorpius threw an elbow into Albus’ arm. “It’s the constellation I was named after!”

“There’s a constellation named blonde bitch?” Albus asked, rubbing his arm, and Scorpius snarled at him.

“You know if I knock you off your broom I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll die.”

“God you’re overdramatic,” Albus breathed.

“It’s the Scorpius constellation, prick.”

“Yeah, I got that,” Albus assured, looking back up at the sky. He shivered against the gust of wind that blew past. “Okay. I think we can go back down now.”

“Afraid of a little chill?”

“I’m not exactly dressed for it, and my hair is soaked from the clouds.”

Scorpius laughed, moving his broom down. “Follow me.”

When they touched back down, Albus’ legs felt like jelly. He felt exhausted, but at the same time he’d never felt more relaxed and at ease. He followed Scorpius back to the shed, handing him the broom so he could replace it.

“Listen… thank you.”

Scorpius looked out at him, propping the brooms against the wall of the shed. “What for?”

“Showing me that. The sky, I mean; and the stars too.” Albus lifted a hand to rub his neck. “I’d never seen anything like it before, and… I probably won’t see anything like it again.”

Scorpius stared at him for a moment before stepping out of the shed, shutting the door. “You can borrow one of the brooms whenever you want,” he offered. “It’s not like I use them all the time, and there’s more than one. So if you ever get the desire to see the sky again, you know… I wouldn’t mind.”

“Really?” Albus asked, staring at Scorpius in awe. “I can?”

Scorpius shrugged. “I put these here for a reason. Sometimes I’m busy, so someone might as well use them.”

“Thank you,” Albus breathed, staring at Scorpius with wide eyes. “I’m serious, I… really, thank you.”

“Don’t mention it,” Scorpius rubbed his neck, staring down.

They stood there in mutual silence for a time before Albus realized it was getting awkward, taking a step back. “I should go. It’s pretty late.”

“Oh,” Scorpius looked shocked. “Yeah. I should go too.”

Albus nodded and turned. “See you around.”

“Yeah,” Scorpius murmured.

Albus was only a few steps away before Scorpius unexpectedly grabbed his arm to stop him. Shock buzzed through Albus and he instinctively reached for his wand as he turned to face Scorpius. He never pulled it out, though. Scorpius was staring down, clinging to his sleeve.

“The people following me were part of the Augurey’s Deatheater regime,” Scorpius said, and Albus stared at him blankly.

He hadn’t expected Scorpius to reveal that, and to be truly honest he’d completely forgotten they were running from the trio of suspicious hooded figures earlier. He suddenly felt uneasy, tensing up.

“Why are you telling me that?”

“You’re the one who asked,” Scorpius argued, and Albus frowned.

“Why would someone on your side be stalking you?”

Scorpius didn’t answer immediately, releasing Albus and drawing his hand in. “Why do you think?”

Albus fought the desire to roll his eyes. “Look, if you want my help you need to actually talk to me.”

“Did I say I wanted your help?” Scorpius snapped, backing up, his posture tense and cautious, like he was trying to protect himself. “Forget I said anything at all. I’m leaving. Goodnight.”

Albus furrowed his brow as Scorpius started walking away. He didn’t know what urged him to do it, but he followed, calling after him. “If you’re in some kind of trouble —”

“I don’t need your help, Potter,” Scorpius interrupted, walking faster. “Just go home.”

“Look I know we’re not friends, but —”

“You’re right, we’re not friends,” Scorpius interrupted yet again, looking over his shoulder at Albus. “So don’t make this mistake. Don’t get caught up in something you can’t handle. Go home before you do something you regret.”

Albus was frozen as Scorpius turned, walking a few more steps before pulling his wand out and disapparating from the field. Albus watched after him for a moment longer before turning and disapparating home. He climbed into the window back into his bedroom, lifting a hand to his damp hair and tossing his wand onto his bed.

Albus took a warm shower just to get the cloud water off, and by the time he returned to the room, James was lying on his bed, looking about as terrible as he had before.

“Where have you been?” Albus asked, and James glanced at him curiously.

“Me? You’re the one who was gone for the past few hours. I had to cover for your dumb ass. So where have  _ you  _ been? It’s dangerous for you to go wandering around, you know.”

“And how many times do you think I’ve had to cover for  _ you, _ huh? One time covering for me doesn’t even begin to make up for it.”

Albus and James glared suspiciously at each other for a long time before someone knocked on the door, and Ron’s voice came through the wood.

“Dinner’s ready, boys!”

James stood up from the bed, holding his arm. “I guess we can talk later,” he said, and Albus hummed.

“Sure. Later.”

Though he rather doubted they would. It wasn’t like he could admit to his brother he’d been flying around with the Scorpion King. That would be absurd. Who knew how James would respond to that?

It didn’t really matter now, though. It would probably never happen again.


End file.
